I have one student, a good chemistry student, who was cheerful and happy. Later on I found out that she was a witness to her mother being murdered by her father. Another student of mine has a mother who is a drug addict. When she visited him at his foster home, she stole his radio to buy drugs. These kids don't come from typical households.
High expectations are definitely a big part of it.
Schafer is saddened by those who dismiss inner-city schools. I love my students and I love working with them. Down the hall in Harold Boger's calculus class, students are solving complex equations. A student asks Boger why she received a zero on her homework assignment. If you were a struggling student, I'd be much more lenient.