Fascinating
@Cynique your conversation with @Pioneer1 on this subject reveals class differences between both of you. You come from a higher class than Pioneer. It is not a value judgment, just an observation.
My experience growing up in the 'hood is that it is easier to end up in prison than college for a certain class of people. So, I have no problem understanding that finishing high school can be a challenge. The cool kids dropped out and hung out in the street where the action was. The kids who did well in school were teased, which stunts performance of these students, unless their is some other factor to counter it -- and their usually isn't. Our teachers expectation were low as they were not from, or had anyu investment in our community.
My kids were reared in a higher class, than the one I was raised in. They did not have to do things like fight other kids, smart kids were admired, and virtually all of their peers had two parents at home.
Many girls in my neighborhood had children in high school, I knew of one who gave birth in 6th grade... By the time I was an adult, some high schools provided day care for the student's children.