In this article, the author focuses on the Washington, D.C. school system and Antonio, a child victim of violence, to discuss the background problems that affect the school performance of children from troubled neighborhoods. People who work in schools know that children--even kindergarten and preschool children--don't come to them as blank slates ready to be filled with knowledge. They come from families and neighborhoods--in the case of children like Antonio, families that are troubled, neighborhoods with histories of unspeakable violence. And if there is any hope of saving children from the most troubled neighborhoods, poverty researchers say, it will require not just sustained effort of public schools (though school reform is key), but a national will to confront a host of needs--education, housing, health and safety, employment--of communities lying in the shadow of prosperity. Some organizations, such as Peaceoholics and Reaching Out to Others Together (ROOT) are attempting to build bridges between schools and communities in order to form positive connections between children and positive role models.