K-12

"Mary Harken, executive director of Raising Readers, said the $10,000 will go toward Raising Readers� Thrive to Five program, which focuses on the importance of reading and school readiness for children ranging from infants to age five. The grant would advance the Thrive to Five program with the hope of reaching even more families in poverty and bringing forth more tools to advance parent or caregiver and child-learning processes."

"Students from low-income households are harder to teach, and Illinois has a growing number of them. 1.05 million students come from families whose income makes the kids eligible for free or reduced-price lunches at school, a typical measure of poverty or low-income status for schools. That�s 51�_ percent of the Illinois school population, the first time that figure has ever been over 50 percent."

"For the first time, the Reading School District is offering all of its students a free breakfast. And in the district's elementary schools, those meals are being enjoyed in the classroom. On Tuesday morning, the district showed off the new program. [...] The program is fully paid for with federal funding, with startup costs covered by a grant from Newman's Own Foundation, a philanthropic foundation formed in 2005 by actor Paul Newman. And in a city like Reading, where poverty is a constant challenge, the breakfast program gives students a chance to start the day off right, school officials said."