Results show that youth who believe that they are successful and who are optimistic about themselves and their schools are more likely to find their schools to be places where they can be successful and optimistic. Girls in elementary schools are quite connected to their schools and their teachers and are reported to be doing well; boys are beginning to become disconnected in the sixth grade, and racial differences are arising. Specialized programs for at-risk youth may create their own set of self-fulfilling prophecies, and researchers are questioning the viability of the at-risk labels. Programs that seek to deter male and female deviance and enhance youths' educational attainments need to address the problem of gender stereotyping; gender differences in decisionmaking; as well as the impact of families, individual teachers, and community settings on youth attitudes and behaviors. Before youth programs can be tailored, researchers should clarify whether risk factors are consistent by gender and by race/ethnicity since it cannot be assumed that male-based risk factors can be transposed to girls. Data were collected from 298 sixth grade students in schools where teachers had been trained by an agency called Kids at Hope. Tables, figures, and references