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"Amidst our platitudes and promises of equity and justice, there are some pretty clear-cut reasons why low-income students are dropping out, failing out, or never even starting college. And although there is no silver bullet, it becomes painfully hard to throw our hands up in the air in the face of so many simple and solvable barriers."

"In the latest of a series of studies, a research organization has found that many students in middle-class schools in Michigan fail to meet or exceed proficiency standards. The study is titled 'Not as Good as You Think: Why Michigan Parents Should Be Concerned about Their Local Schools,' and is authored by Lance Izumi of the Pacific Research Institute. He says middle-class students often fare no better than their counterparts in low-income, urban public schools."

"Atlanta city officials say they're planning to offer a federally-supported program to provide meals to low-income children during summer break from school."

"Food pantries, where students in need can stock up on groceries and basic supplies, started cropping up on campuses in large numbers after the recession began in 2007. More than 200 U.S. colleges, mostly public institutions, now operate pantries, and more are on the way, even as the economy rebounds."

"Vassar College is the inaugural recipient of an annual $1-million award given to the college that most successfully admits and graduates low-income students, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation announced Tuesday."

"Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval's proposal to help lower-income students afford private schools passed the Nevada Senate in party-line vote on Tuesday and is now headed to his desk for final approval. Senators approved AB165, which proponents say will help students leave lower-achieving schools and attend one of the estimated 200 private schools in the state that might be financially out of reach."

"Many aspects of the economic picture have improved since the height of the recession in late 2008. Yet the number of children living in families categorized as poor or near-poor remains stubbornly high, recently released figures from the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) at Columbia University show. "

"But at the same time, the university's Board of Trustees has voted to increase tuition by at least 3 percent every year for the last 10 years or a roughly 47 percent increase since the 2005-06 school year. In doing so, the university funds its financial aid initiative in part from the tuition revenue wealthy student bring in. It also has a $21 billion endowment, and a portion of the returns each year goes toward university operations."

"Stanford University has just taken a huge step toward helping students whose parents make less than $125,000 a year get a college education without accruing inordinate amounts of debt."

"A new report co-authored by UConn professor of education Jonathan Plucker says high-achieving students from low-income households can't rely on resilience alone to see them through."

"States aren't doing enough to support gifted students, especially those from low-income families that's the message that the Virginia-based Jack Kent Cooke Foundation sent Tuesday with the release of report cards on state policies for academically talented children."