Is starting in the fifth grade early enough?
Yes. Ideally, a program would begin early to work closely and intensively with a young person to instill the importance of character, education, hard work, and personal responsibility. The longer we wait, the more difficult the task becomes. Focusing on the middle school years is a pragmatic approach proven to have the greatest impact with limited financial resources. In the middle school years, students typically begin to move away from parents as role models and look toward peers as a way to behave in the world. Unfortunately, some children are already lost to extraordinary challenges by age 10, but schools following our model have shown dramatic results by focusing on the 5th through 8th grade range.
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