Grads Within Reach Walk successfully brings high school students back to school

Style Magazine Newswire | 9/12/2022, 3:46 p.m.
Volunteers from more than 30 HISD comprehensive secondary schools spent Saturday morning knocking on doors across Houston encouraging students who …
Superintendent Millard House

Volunteers from more than 30 HISD comprehensive secondary schools spent Saturday morning knocking on doors across Houston encouraging students who have not returned to school this academic year to re-enroll.

“Everyone from teachers, principals, board members, and volunteers canvassed neighborhoods throughout the city to bring these children back into the classroom,” Superintendent Millard House said. “Some students are just one or two classes away from earning a diploma. So, we knock on doors and present them with a plan that allows them to graduate.”

The outreach effort was part of the Grads Within Reach Walk which led to 67 comprehensive secondary students returning to school immediately and many more teens promising to give school another try.

“We know numerous reasons and factors cause a student to leave school,” House said. “The Grads Within Reach Walk allows us to directly reach out to the student and let them know they belong at HISD, and we will help them graduate.”

At the start of the school year, 5,736 high school students had not returned to class. Schools and central office staff have been conducting targeted outreach for months to support these students and their families. HISD administrators, staff, and volunteers met with dozens of families across the district to talk to them about the various options HISD offers to help students get back to school and graduate.

“If there is a student who wants to finish school, we will find a way to make it possible,” House said.

View Our E-Editon