“expectation: GRADUATION” is a summit meeting called in 2004 to help more students complete high school by increasing public awareness of the dropout issue, developing ways to address it, creating action plans based on those strategies, and actively engaging local leaders in carrying out those plans. Hundreds of business and community leaders, parents, and students attended the event, and one of the many initiatives that grew from it was HISD’s “Reach Out to Dropouts” (ROTD) walk. Held every fall since 2004, ROTD recruits hundreds of HISD and community volunteers to visit dropouts’ homes and persuade many of the students to return to school to continue their education.