08:43 PM CST on Monday, November 24, 2003

By Anna Werner / 11 News

HOUSTON -- Houston leaders are taking action in response to an 11 News Defenders investigation. Last week the Defenders uncovered some questionable Houston Independent School District test scores, and how students may have been pushed out to get them.

But that also caused kids to dropout. So Hispanic leaders are banding together and demanding real change.

"Don't look at this as a Hispanic issue," says Rick Jaramillo with the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. "Don't look at this as a minority issue. This is a city of Houston issue."

The issue is Houston's dropouts and area Hispanic community leaders have decided they've had enough.

"It is about time that Houston takes a look at this issue as a crisis," says Jaramillo. "Because it is a crisis."

To fight that crisis a new task force of business and community leaders, led by the Association for the Advancement for Mexican Americans, hope to save some of the thousands of kids who drop out every year.

"We've got to make a turnaround," says Gilbert Moreno with the Association for the Advancement of Mexican-Americans. "And this task force is being engaged to try and tackle those issues to begin to make a difference."

Moreno says the trigger for the program was the 11 News Defenders investigation, which aired last week. That report showed how some district high schools had raised their TAAS scores by holding students back a grade, causing some of them to dropout.

"In some cases we weren't aware of these problems," says Moreno. "And the KHOU story did identify those. And we've gotta make sure that there are no other unhidden surprises there."

District officials showed up at the meeting and pledged to cooperate, but wouldn't talk with 11 News.

Abe Saavedra, Executive Superintendent of HISD, wouldn't talk to 11 News about any initiative that HISD could have about fixing the problems. "I just can't talk to you," says Saavedra. "I cannot talk to you unless you go through the media office."

Since HISD has chosen not to speak with 11 News on camera, what is the public supposed to think about that? "Well I don't know," says Saavedra. "You need to go through the media office. If the media office sets up an appointment I'll be happy to visit with you, thank you."

But he's an expert and works with these programs. But he only responds, "Thank you." And walks out the door.

But Gilbert Moreno says HISD is ultimately going to have to face the music. "I think they have to realize that the community is very concerned," he says. "And that we're not going to let this thing die, that we're going to mobilize and really make an issue of this."

Moreno says the group's first step is to create a crisis intervention center with a hotline so parents will have someone to turn to for help if their child is on the verge of dropping out of school.