You can’t take a kid out of the ghetto, the kid must take himself out of the ghetto. If the kid has parents interested in helping him leave the ghetto, it is much easier, but if not and surrounded by peers who have no interest in leaving the ghetto the kid must be a very special independent self starter from a young age indeed. But all of those in the ghetto must learn that where you are in YOUR life is the sum result of all decisions YOU have made. I hate the phrase “It’s not my fault”, or “It’s not fair”. My nephews use these words all the time, and it absolutely makes my teeth itch. I try to pound that lesson into them, that they will never succeed until they OWN the consequences of their actions, and begin acting in a way that does not always lead to bad “unfair, not my fault” consequences. Right now, they seem to me to be whining 5 year olds, and from now on I shall be giving them christmas presents appropriate to their age of maturity.
I actually had to write some code for submitting and aggregating head start (amongst others) program stats in the 2003-4 time period. It would be cool if that contributed to the study.