Tough reports that a national evaluation of the character education programs by the U.S. Department of Education found that seven popular elementary school programs "had no significant impact at all from the programs-not on student behavior, not on academic achievement, not on school culture"(60) How would you rate our character education program.

Tough writes, "Children who grow up in stressful environments generally find it harder to sit still, harder to rebound from disappointment, and harder to follow directions."(17). What can the community and school do to mitigate the stress students bring with them to the classroom?