Tucson Unified School District and City of Tucson representatives, among them Mayor Jonathan Rothschild and TUSD Superintendent H.T. Sanchez, went door-to-door this morning to visit more than 300 kids, who have dropped out of school, hoping to persuade them to go back to school.

The two, alongside 46 pairs of volunteers, were out on the streets from 8 a.m. until noon for the second Steps to Success walk.

From a TUSD press release:

The first Steps to Success walk, held in July, visited more than 450 homes and brought 171 children back to school. Sixteen of those have already earned their high school diplomas and received them at Winter Commencement.

“We owe it to our students who have lost hope, who have slipped through our fingers, to reach out and help them find their way back to earning a high school education,” Dr. Sanchez said. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to visit more families and meet more young people who need encouragement and who need someone to show them the possibilities.”

“Students need to know the community cares about their success,” said Mayor Rothschild. “Having volunteers come to your door, with staff, ready to get you back on track and enrolled in school, is huge. I’m very happy to participate in this second Steps to Success walk, and I look forward to participating in many more.”

Eugene Butler, Assistant Superintendent of Student Services, says the initiative is about reclaiming Tucson’s children and being the inspiration that might help them return to a successful path.

TUSD has set up a Success Center on the Catalina High School campus, 3645 E. Pima Street, for students who wish to get information and assistance in completing their high school education. The hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

It has been proven that Mexican-American Studies and similar programs to it, in addition to the method to teach these classes, have helped the dropout rate among many demographics, as looked into by this 2012 report from the UA. Something to keep in mind as the district tries to fix its relationship with state education officials over the allegedly-in-violation-of-state-law culturally relevant curriculum.