I work in Furr High School in Houston, Texas. The student profile at the school is African American, 20 percent; Asian, 1 percent; Hispanic, 76 percent; and white, 3 percent. Eighty-seven percent of the students qualify for free and reduced lunch, 76 percent are identified as "at risk," and 16 percent are limited English proficient (LEP).

In addition to the comprehensive high school, we have a charter school called REACH that provides a special program for students at risk. REACH has a high percentage of dropouts, and most of our students are three to four years below grade level. The students typically have low self-esteem, display a confrontational set of behaviors, are gang members, and have high rates of drug abuse and teenage pregnancy. I decided to focus on the habits with this group of students first.