The 2014-2015 Virginia School Report card reveals that 512,484 students (40%) in Virginia's public schools were considered Economically Disadvantaged, and more than 8,600 Virginia students were homeless.  Although Virginia was designated by Wall Street 24/7 as the eighth richest state in the US, the percentage of students in poverty increased from 29.2% of students identified as Economically Disadvantaged in the 2004-2005 school year. Will Virginia's students realize the American Dream?

Putnam shares case studies as well as an abundance of research contrasting the diminishing prospects of children born into disadvantaged families compared to a variety of opportunities provided to children born into wealth.  Students who live in poverty are more likely to live in neighborhoods with high crime, addiction, and gangs as well as less productive role models. Putnam describes this as the "opportunity gap."

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