The one good thing I will say about inner city schools is that they are so desperate for teachers who can keep the kids in the rooms and not running through the halls vandalizing stuff is that they leave curriculum pretty much up to the teacher. In English, anyway. I choose the books and movies we cover. I have to teach them the “skills” the District wants, but that’s fine. As long as I get to choose the books and movies.
We live in a small town in the Midwest so it’s very different here.