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"Publicly funded preschools across the country are largely segregated by race and income, and poor children are typically enrolled in the lowest quality programs, according to a new report released Wednesday by researchers at the National Center for Children and Families at Teachers College, Columbia University."

"Virginia Senator Mark Warner and Senator Rob Portman of Ohio have proposed legislation to help low-income students earn college credits while they are still in high school."

"He is part of a growing number of low-income students who are able to attend elite schools, as universities seek out more socioeconomically diverse students and offer more aid to lower-income families. But once students make it through the ivy gates, they find they are still not completely accepted."

"According to the College Board, which runs the AP program, in 2013 about 15 percent of graduating seniors in the U.S. were black. But, black students made up only about 9 percent of AP test takers. That same year the latest for which reliable comparisons are available low-income students made up 48 percent of the high school population, but only about 28 percent of AP test takers."

"Unfortunately, the vast majority of high-achieving, low-income students do not apply to selective colleges or universities. The average enrollment of low-income students at the more selective four-year colleges is only in the 10 to 15 percent range. Well-qualified low-income students who are discouraged from applying to selective colleges and who enroll in less selective schools are at a disadvantage. Less competitive schools generally offer less generous financial packages, fewer support services and less challenging courses of study."

"Inequality has been increasing in multiple ways. But one little-appreciated form is the inequality of retirement time. That's the number of years between retirement and death. It's not surprising that divergent retirement time should reflect other forms of growing inequality. The poor have lower earnings and often work longer out of necessity, not choice. They are less likely to have decent pensions or private savings. On average, they suffer poorer health and tend to die younger. On all counts, the affluent get to enjoy more years of retirement in relative comfort."

"Those are just some of the unique learning opportunities students at the high-poverty school are getting this year as part of an extended-day program. The school district, in partnership with the nonprofit Charleston Promise Neighborhood, piloted an extended school day at Sanders Clyde this school year, with students staying an extra 2 hours a day."

"Jasmine Miller, who grew up in Tennessee and graduated from Harvard in 2013, has some illustrative anecdotes to explain how low-income students at elite colleges get subtle and not-so-subtle reminders that they aren't like their classmates. An Ivy League economics professor, for example, might try to elicit a discussion by asking, 'How many of you were raised by nannies?' And a low-income student is bound to get a party icebreaker like 'Where's your favorite place to go abroad?'"

"First-generation and low-income students thrive at small and midsize private colleges and are more likely to graduate than if they attended a public or large private university, a report by the group representing those institutions says."

"Midway Independent School District's board of trustees Tuesday unanimously approved a letter stating that it does not support a proposed low-income housing development near Woodgate Intermediate School, claiming the complex, coupled with a new D.R. Horton subdivision in the same attendance zone, could strain the district's resources."

"The state treasurer is proposing lowering sales and property tax rates and creating a state income tax to pay for education. The legislature was ordered by the state supreme court to come up with a plan by the end of the current legislative session to fully fund K-12 education as mandated by the state constitution."

"Somerset County is one of the best places in the state for children, according to the latest annual Kids Count report released Monday. For the second year in a row, Somerset County was ranked No. 3 in the report, which measures the state's 21 counties in 13 categories, including poverty, health, safety and education. Nearby Morris and Hunterdon counties finished ahead of Somerset."