Today, the majority of federal education funding continues to be targeted at low-income children, though research shows scant benefits. The focus on desegregation and low-performing populations continues to preoccupy urban public schools today. A few public schools have defied the odds and provided urban students with good educations. These are often led by fearless principals willing to take on the education establishment and status quo lobbies long enough to make a difference. Most are charter or magnet schools that set a clear vision of the schools' mission, and keep the emphasis on student academic outcomes.
Most successful schools depend on active parent involvement, and respond to parental input.
Despite an influx of funds into inner cities, however, these few successful schools rarely get replicated. There are simply too many institutional forces in public school bureaucracies working against excellence, high standards, and accountability at present. Inner-city children can prosper in school, however. We know this because many non -public schools operating in these same neighborhoods have served their students well. University of Chicago professor Derek Neal recently found that the probability an inner-city student would graduate from high school increased from 62 percent to 88 percent when the student was placed in a Catholic secondary school.