09.03.08

Houston's annual door-knocking blitz that aims to locate hundreds of teens who haven't yet found their way back to school has spawned several copycat initiatives in other Texas cities that are also struggling with high dropout rates.

Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Corpus Christi and El Paso are following in Houston's footsteps this year by hosting their own dropout recovery walks this weekend.

An unprecedented 16 school districts statewide will be included in Saturday's event, which was born in Houston in 2004.

"We're really gaining momentum," Mayor Bill White said. "Most folks in Texas and the United States understand that education is the most important issue facing our nation today."

In 2007, volunteers visited more than 1,740 homes in the Houston area looking for students who failed to return to school last August. By September, 766 of those students were back in class, officials said.

Texas school districts have an extra incentive to put forth the effort this academic year. The Texas Education Agency is expected to use a tougher definition of dropouts in its calculation of state accountability ratings for the first time next year. The new dropout definition will include students who only earn a GED or who can't pass the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills.