It's Sept. 5. Do you know where your children are?

If they're not in class, Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert wants to change that. In fact, he might show up on your doorstep and offer to escort your teenager back to school.

City leaders and DISD officials are making personal pitches to potential dropouts, urging kids to give school another shot. Tomorrow, Mr. Leppert and Superintendent Michael Hinojosa will join a small army of volunteers who will pound the pavement, making house calls and offering a chance to re-enroll.

This innovative effort, dubbed Operation Comeback, is an aggressive approach to rein in Dallas' dropout rates. And it's further evidence that the city and DISD can be effective partners in bolstering schools.

While Mr. Leppert and Dr. Hinojosa are leading the charge in Dallas, credit for this dropout reduction effort goes to Houston Mayor Bill White, who has been going door to door with some success in his city since 2004. Now, other urban districts in Texas are stealing this smart idea.

A phone bank this week will help DISD determine whether former students have moved to another district or have slipped through the cracks. Then tomorrow, volunteers will pay a visit to many who simply failed to show up for class this year. The volunteers will let the kids know that they've been missed and tell them what they're missing out on – namely, all the opportunities that require at least a high school education.

In Dallas, where a recent report estimated the graduation rate at 44.4 percent, Operation Comeback may make only a small dent in a daunting problem. But it's an important start.

Too often, high school students are derailed by pregnancy or family pressure to hold down a job, and they're unsure how to balance these responsibilities. As Mayor White of Houston has noted, many kids just need to know that an adult is counting on them and that someone cares about their future.

Tomorrow, Mr. Leppert and Dr. Hinojosa will deliver that message in person.