FOR EVEN THE brightest students from deprived backgrounds, life often falls short of expectations. But why?
The Globe’s recent Valedictorians Project shone a light on life after high school graduation for Boston’s sharpest students and found instances of homelessness, low wages, and dreams deferred. The reporting raised the question of whether the Boston Public Schools are preparing their best students to succeed.
Harvard education professor Anthony Abraham Jack zooms the lens out even farther. In his forthcoming book, “The Privileged Poor,” he examines whether larger structural factors, like poverty, are behind the college struggles of many poor students.