Duncanville ISD Going Door-To-Door To Encourage High School Seniors Back To Class

DUNCANVILLE (CBSDFW.COM) — School officials from the Duncanville Independent School District hit the pavement Thursday attempting to coerce seniors -- who missed out on graduating last year -- back into the fold.

The principal of PACE High School, Tijuana Hudson, invited assistant principals from Duncanville High School to join her in the mission.

Hudson told CBS 11 New Reporter Nicole Jacobs, "Our main focus is to show them how close they are to graduation explain the benefit of coming to PACE High School in the timeline it looks like they might have in order to complete their high school diploma and after that I get a commitment."

Two different teams, of Duncanville ISD school leaders, went door-to-door attempting to re-connect with seniors who, for whatever reason, were on track to graduate last year, but did not.

The teams started reaching out to students at the end of August, and had luck contacting some of them. But there were 25 seniors who they were not successful in contacting.

They paid a visit to those students' homes today to inform them about the options Pace High School offers—which is an alternative education center of choice* in the district—but also to encourage them to get back into any school setting.

Because of the pandemic, these educators are well aware that some students are working jobs to help their families make ends meet. But there are online options available to students anytime of the day or week.

Hudson said, "We want them to know that no matter what circumstances you've had in your life. There are people here in Duncanville ISD who care about you and we are going to be on a mission to help you complete your high school diploma."

In addition to the flexible learning options, PACE High School also provides students with five graduation dates to choose from.