About one quarter of the children under the age of six are living in poverty, a factor that is highly relevant to school failure. It has been estimated that one quarter of the adolescent population is at risk of academic failure and other problem behaviors, with another quarter considered moderately at risk. School failure and the almost inevitable unemployment or underemployment that follows were among the most serious of these problems. This book examines the relationship between protective factors and academic achievement in elementary students. Protective factors are individual or environmental safeguards that enhance a youngster's ability to resist stressful life events and promote resilience. There are protective factors at work in every system (individual, family, peer, school, and community.)