ABSTRACT
Today in America, there are millions of students who are overcoming challenging socioeconomic circumstances to excel academically. They defy the stereotype that poverty precludes high academic performance and that lower-income and low academic achievement are inextricably linked. Sometimes a family’s low-income situation is temporary, but it may also be a persistent circumstance. Children need role models. It may be that children find role models at the community center, in a church, or in a youth group or club, but they also need to find role models at school. Role models set the standard for how children should act and what they can become. Enriching learning opportunities can be part of the school experience on an ongoing basis. They can be regular curriculum offerings that engage students in learning with hands-on and minds-on learning. Opportunities are not real opportunities unless the person who would benefit knows about them.
