Interesting subject.
Here in Toronto, public schools are broadly in good repute; and are well utilized by the middle and upper middle classes and even some of the very rich; though many of those do send their children to elite private schools.
We don't have quite as much disparity between high and low performing schools as may be seen in some U.S. communities; though that is not to suggest there isn't a disparity, because there is indeed one.
In Toronto, provided a school is not over capacity, you can live in any neighbourhood and send your child to a school in any other. There isn't the same adherence to school districts or the like often seen in the U.S.
That said, capacity issues can limit admissions from outside of one's neighbourhood.
Parent here do show concern for getting their children the best possible education though; and one way in which this manifests here is the long queue for getting one's kids into French Immersion. This is often a subtle way in which parents can place their children in a self-select program that is essentially thought of as gifted (though there are no academic entry requirements if you place your kids at the earliest opportunity)
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As someone who myself went through public education (though also a few years in private school); and then went on to an elite university, I can say the differences are real, though not what most imagine.
Discipline was tighter in the private school, but academics not particularly more rigorous.
Where I found the biggest difference was in doing well in the public system, I ended up in some 'enriched' classes (what you might call AP in the U.S. or gifted); and that difference was material.
Class size dropped, the teaching was different, more collaborative, and generally featured more challenging material.
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Crawford I think, made excellent points, that environment does influence outcome in some measure. Not merely by quality of teaching, or peer expectations, but in the form of class size, enrichment activities, how much teacher time is devoted to students who struggle and more.
These things are addressable within a framework of public education; but some places do so better than others; and some are challenged by where students are at academically when they arrive in Kindergarten.
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Raising the bar involves addressing those issues that arise in low-income communities. Lower parental education level; less liklihood of high-speed internet at home, fewer books in the home, parents less able to help with homework, not only because of ability, but due to shift work, longer hours, two jobs etc.
One will never achieve total parity in the experiences that children from low-income families have available to them, with those from high-income families.
But the gap can be narrowed. People often fail to account for the leaning that may occur through a summer camp, whether that's an overnight camp in a rural/wild area; or whether that's an art camp or space camp or some other form of urban adventure for a child. Such experiences give them new words, new connections with other kids, new abilities etc which are then reflected when they return to school in September.
Likewise, access to travel, the simple act as a child of having passport or seeing a parents, of going to an airport, getting on a plane etc etc. provides a wealth learning opportunity even before one arrives at a destination, be that across the country or around the world.
Again, we're not going to be able to provide that opportunity to every child, but many smaller things can achieve similar benefits.
What if government waived fees for your first passport, made the process one through your local High School in Grade 9, and then every child had a 10-year passport? It doesn't make a low-income earner a globe-trotter, but it adds a valuable piece of ID, knowledge of the process for obtaining a passport, and does open some doors, particularly for those living close to an international land border.
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One can also invest in catching parents up in areas where that is a challenge.
What about paying them to attend an orientation night with or for their kids? How about using that opportunity to pitch free return-to-school (for adults) / GED programs and having staff there to facilitate paperwork?
Moves like that can really help raise both a student's performance and that of a school.
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In the U.S., however, I think, as with Cities, there need to be fewer local fiefdoms and some effort to level resources between schools, and indeed, provide extra to those schools facing the greatest challenges.
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An environmentally conscientious, libertarian inclined, fiscally conservative, socialist.
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