St. Augustine High School in New Orleans has neither a gymnasium nor an athletic field, but its "Purple Knights" are champions in football, basketball and baseball. St. Aug's lacks an auditorium, but its theatrical productions are among the liveliest in Louisiana. St. Aug's academic facilities range from a 7,000-volume library down to a biology lab without running water, but its best graduates get into the most competitive colleges in the U.S., often with full scholarships.
Yet despite St. Aug's well-rounded achievements, says a teacher, "we are aware that our students are not...