As the Director of LEAD, an affiliated center with the Coalition of Essential Schools (CES), the author and his colleagues have the opportunity to work with teachers and administrators to develop "Habits of Mind" and "Habits of Character" that focus expectations for students and teachers. Habits of Mind are aligned with Bloom's taxonomy in kid-friendly language. Habits of Character are the expectations for how students will approach being a student, and are closely aligned with grit and perseverance. Both Habits of Mind and Habits of Character are as much about the culture of the school as they are about expectations for the students. There have been criticisms of the research on grit and resilience, indicating that the emphasis too often is a deficit model, blaming children for not being gritty or resilient enough. This paper's focus is on the institution of schooling, and how the school culture can and should foster grit and resilience in students, especially students of poverty, who may learn to be gritty and resilient in their interactions with their peers, but who are too often not successful in the school setting. Two programs--Advancement via Individual Determination (AVID) and Big Brothers Big Sisters--are discussed as examples of school/community programs that foster the mindset of perseverance and resilience. The paper includes a list of traits of school practices that foster resilience, perseverance, and a positive mindset. [NOTE: Page 241 was removed from the attached PDF because it was a blank page.]