Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to trace a 40-year research journey to identify organizational properties that foster the achievement of all students, regardless of socio-economic status (SES). Design/methodology/approach: The author describes a search for school properties that have an impact on the cognitive and social-emotional development of faculty and students, with special emphasis on academic achievement. Findings: Three characteristics of schools were identified that make a positive difference for student achievement controlling for the SES: collective efficacy, collective trust in parents and students, and academic emphasis of the school. Further these three measures are elements of a latent construct, academic emphasis of school, which is a powerful predictor of student achievement regardless of SES. Originality/value: The paper identifies school variables that are often as important, or more important, than SES in explaining academic achievement, and a new model is created to explain how academic optimism influences student achievement. (Contains 3 figures, 1 table and 5 notes.)