Critics may still be lining up to oust him for his administration’s tactics, but Frederick Hill made a genuine plea for help Monday.

We don’t recall the last time a superintendent of the Natchez-Adams School District reached out so clearly and specifically to the public for its help.

Hill outlined a detailed dropout prevention plan during the first of a series of community meetings aimed at addressing public concerns over the district’s direction.

Hill called for 203 community volunteers to be paired with each member of the 2017 Natchez High School class. The goal is to help show the students that the community cares about their future.

It was a plea for action, but it was also a statement, of sorts. Effectively, Hill held up a mirror to the community and politely suggested: If you aren’t part of the solution, you may be part of the problem.

Critics may decry the move and suggest, “No one had to mentor for me. My parents did that. Where are the parents?”

Such a position is blaming the problem, but missing the victim, in this case, students. No one wants to fail, yet, as Hill pointed out, last year 54 Natchez High seniors dropped out before graduation.

That prior year 127 students dropped out. In just two years, nearly 200 young people joined the real world with a significant disadvantage — no high school diploma. Some of those dropouts may fight the odds and become productive citizens, but the deck is stacked against them.

Hill’s plea for help should be a clarion call for the community. If Natchez High fails, blaming the parents is easy, but a share of that blame is on all of us — and we’ll all pay the consequences.