Teachers go the extra mile, literally

Middle school teacher Brandee Brandt pounded on the door of an apartment in San Antonio, Texas, for the third time one January afternoon. As reported in The Christian Science Monitor, she was searching for Davey, one of her students. Finally Davey's older brother opened the door. "You really aren't going away, are you?" he said. She asked him to get Davey, 13, who had suddenly stopped doing his online schoolwork. Brandee and fellow eighth grade teacher Emily Countryman from Rawlinson Middle School would spend all day knocking on doors.

Since school began, a squad of Rawlinson teachers have visited over 100 homes. Every few weeks, school staff make a list of kids who need a visit. Two teachers volunteer, and the school hires subs on the day they are door-knocking. The teachers' relentless pursuit of these kids is why Rawlinson averaged 99% attendance at Christmas break -- about 8% igher than the district middle school average.