3 Sep 2008
'Operation Comeback' is Part of a Statewide Initiative To Encourage Students to Return to School
DALLAS–Dallas Independent School District Superintendent of Schools Michael Hinojosa and City of Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert will kick off Operation Comeback during a news conference at 8 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 6, at North Dallas High School, 3120 N. Haskell Ave. After the news conference, the mayor and superintendent will walk from home to home to visit the homes of students who have not returned to school yet and can become potential dropouts.
Operation Comeback is part of a statewide initiative which includes mayors from six major Texas cities and officials from 17 school districts uniting to reach students who are potential dropouts.
"Our students need to be in school in order to receive the education which will help them succeed in life," said Superintendent of Schools Michael Hinojosa. "We appreciate the efforts that Mayor Tom Leppert and other City of Dallas and elected officials are doing to help get every Dallas ISD student back where they belong - in school. If students don't graduate from high school, it will be difficult for them to obtain a good paying job. Our priority in Dallas ISD is to educate and graduate every student ready for college and the workforce, and in order to achieve this goal, we need to make sure that all of our students are attending classes."
"If we are all committed to education, we must get the students back in the classroom," said Mayor Leppert. "And if it means going door to door to let these students know that these kids matter to us, that we care, that our success is tied to theirs – then that's clearly what we're going to do."
Other volunteers, including City of Dallas officials, state representatives, and U. S. representatives, will also walk around Dallas neighborhoods to visit the homes of students who need to return to school.
As part of the Operation Comeback initiative, volunteers from the Volunteer Center of North Texas will conduct a phone bank on Thursday, Sept. 4, and Friday, Sept. 5. During the phone bank, volunteers will attempt to reach students who have not attended school this year and ask them to return. Mayor Leppert will assist with phone bank calls on Thursday, Sept. 4, from 3 p.m. - 3:30 p.m., at Dallas City Hall E0C - Office of Emergency Management, L2, 1500 Marilla.