Very convenient how they blame the schools. Even if those schools were the most garbage in the entire world (and I am sure they are not), I can assure you that the primary reason is poor parenting and social circle
Take a smart guy, put him at the worst possible school and he would still climb up (won't fully realise his potential though).
All these excuses are what the state and the public in general do to cover up their deep internal problems. So instead of fighting over these deep fundamental issues they have, they instead prefer the easy solution of blaming the schools for all sorts of societal issues they face
The HBO network series
The Wire, which actually takes place in Baltimore, pretty much goes over the inner city political structure and apparatus. From the gangs, police, labor unions and outsourcing, city politics, urban real estate developers, the school system, and the media's perspective. It's a excellent and entertaining show at the same time and partly based on a true story written by a former police officer.
This is also known to be what many prison/criminal justice reform activists and American political scientists refer to as the School-to-Prison Pipeline. Students who accumulate a lengthy disciplinary record and/or fail to be academically proficient, especially in Reading and Math, have an greatly increased risk of being incarcerated. It is also highly common for parents to be strung out on alcohol or drugs and if not the parents have to work about 3 jobs so generally there is minimal supervision and recreational activities for the kids. If the parent has been incarcerated then there is an increased chance the kid may be as well.
It's a whole dynamic of socio-economic, socio-cultural, socio-political and psycho-social factors that contribute to plight in impoverished school districts.