School personnel end up acting as ad hoc social workers for children who show up unwilling or unable to focus on academic study. If one student comes to school

School personnel end up acting as ad hoc social workers for children who show up unwilling or unable to focus on academic study. If one student comes to school worrying about what college they'll be able to get into, and another comes to school worrying if the family's going to be evicted from their apartment, then the same money/attention isn't likley to produce the same academic outcomes. I don't know if that is what sseveran alludes to -- Baltimore seems to be famously corrupt also -- but it's a significant problem. It's one of the reasons that some teachers are willing to take a pay cut to work at a private school that's selective about students. Teaching students who are attentive and ready to learn can be pleasurable. Trying to teach students who are resentful, distracted, and unprepared -- that's less attractive. Or at least it takes a rarer personality type to find it rewarding.