It also helps to have parents that are around, rather than working their tails off to keep up with the Jones’ (or, here in Texas now, keep up with the Gonzolaz’s).
It DEFINITELY HELPS to not stick the kid in public school, where he’ll get chummy with a lot of bad people, who happen to live very close by. That is asking for it. At the least, send him to a school that’s 5 (if not 10) miles away, so that seeing friends is harder to do, and thus you have more control over it.
I'm not sure that most private schools are that much better, given that excess cash and the trendiness of "ADHD" prescriptions create drug problems.
Anyone who has access to a good neighborhood school where the students, parents, and staff are a known quantity that gets good results and has a nice atmosphere is probably the best alternative. Charter schools?....as the proliferate, many if not most are having the same problems as the public schools.
Without a good neighborhood school, home schooling is probably the only option, hopefully with opportunities for parents and students to have time together, and with access to public school extracurricular programs if that's the parents' choice. In OH (I don't know if it's nation-wide), there are some okay online public schools. They're a pretty good alternative, but it's still best to have a parent home to supervise. Putting a few kids together with one parent paid a little to supervise them while they do their home school is another possibility.
The urban public schools seem to be getting worse and with more problems at an ever earlier age. JMHO. I suspect it's because many parents up to the age of 30 or so don't have a clue about responsibility or what to expect of kids and schools.