These apps also teach soft skills including empathy and self-awareness.

Values, the software for the mind, are the building blocks of culture. Establishing core values and discussing them at regular intervals, starting at an early age and where real examples are reviewed, will facilitate the formation of a positive family culture.

Much has been written about the cycle of poverty and under-achievement in urban schools. But too few stories have appeared about the most at-risk students who have risen to the occasion to graduate, achieve and contribute to their schools, communities and families.