[Rich76_911s]

Let's be honest here I doubt any of us would want to send our kids into an inner city school system. So there is more to the dynamic than simply saying parents are failing.

I live less than 5 miles away from inner city Philadelphia schools.

My school district is Lower Merion, it has 94% of students who go on to attend institutions of higher education, ranks highest among Pennsylvania schools for SAT and PSAT scores, and all 9 schools in the district have received recognition for excellence from the State, and is frequently recognized as one of the "Top Schools" by several publications.

I'm quite certain that no one in my neighborhood would want their kids swap schools with anyone in the Philadelphia School district, which by the way, as of last year, had the highest drop out rate of any public school system in the country. Although I have no evidence of it, it is safe to assume they likely rank in the bottom of the nations school districts.

It's a complex problem and parenting is at the heart of it, but I do believe we are failing at educating our poor, regardless of skin color. We as a nation owe it to our children to get them a decent education, at least up to 12th grade. In the United States the outcomes may not be equal, but public schools need to give equal opportunity so all our children and our nation can succeed.