Poverty has always been a problem in the United States and no doubt the condition unfortunately will always prevail. Title One schools will always have children enrolled who come from the lower socioeconomic class. This article has to do with the devastating effect of poverty, including stories from a classroom teacher of students who lived in homes of instability. Much of the article includes examples of occurrences in and out of the classroom that startled the writer of this article writer (as a first grade teacher). The teacher noticed some disturbing patterns of behavior with this population of children. Students who came from poor homes often had only one parent and rarely two. Some children were being raised by one or more grandparents who were doing their best to raise their grandchildren. Some fathers were in prison. Some children lived in blended home. A great majority of children lived in slumlord apartments. Many lived with just one parent. Many students were mobile and never stayed at any school very long. Most students, even those who previously attended Head Start program were still greatly behind in being ready for school. The first grade teacher (the writer of this article) spent the first few weeks catching up students on prior knowledge experiences including content deficits.. The teacher had to seek knowledge of other teachers in the school in order to understand these children's backgrounds. This article is a written response to a pre-service teacher from a nearby university requesting that the author of this article's input on at-risk children.