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"Washington University in St. Louis plans to double its share of students eligible for Pell Grants by 2020, a university spokeswoman wrote in an email to The Chronicle. The private college says it will spend roughly $25-million per year to double its percentage of Pell-eligible students, from 6 percent to 13 percent. The college has been criticized for years for its lack of socioeconomic diversity. Most recently, The New York Times's Upshot column highlighted that lack in a list of the nation's most-accessible elite colleges."

"Local education needs are being ignored in a proposed rewrite of the federal No Child Left Behind law, an education policy expert says. Association of American Educators member Tracie Happel is a second grade teacher at Northside Elementary in La Crosse, Wisconsin, which has a high number of students from disadvantaged families. Students from low-income families don't learn like other students, Happel said. 'They have very different needs and world experiences,' Happel said in an interview with Watchdog.org. 'When we're forced to teach to a test, we can't spend much time on the other areas in their lives that they need.'"

"The Children's Museum of Denver is spending 2015 trying to open its doors a little wider to low-income families. The museum 2121 Children's Museum Drive is offering $1 admission per person to families who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. The pilot project started at the beginning of the year and will run through December."

"The workshop was organized by Horizon Education Alliance and several partners including Conn-Selmer Inc., Elkhart Community Schools and Goshen College. El Sistema is a music education program developed in Venezuela in 1975 by Jos̩ Antonio Abreu and is geared toward providing music instruction to students from low-income or under-served communities."

"There is also a small tax credit for low-income seniors, which Perlman says is not widely used. 'It might be helpful for someone who neither contributed to the Social Security system nor ever married.'"

"Last week, President Barack Obama announced a plan that, if approved by Congress, would dedicate about $60 billion over 10 years to allow students to go to community college for free. While the plan has its share of critics, it could have a huge impact on families that are teetering on financial instability, supporters told HuffPost Live on Tuesday."

"Five schools in Philadelphia made the cut for a 'high progress' designation, based on increases in achievement in math and reading across all student in the schools. Four Philadelphia district schools Lankenau High School, Philadelphia Military Academy at Elverson, Juniata Park Academy and Eliza B. Kirkbride School earned spots along with one charter school, Freire Charter School in Center City. Across the state, 16 schools made the 'high progress' list. School leaders attribute that progress to a variety of factors, from a rebooted school day to getting better equipment."

"When President Barack Obama announced an ambitious new plan to make community college free this past Friday during a speech at Pellissippi State Community College in Knoxville, Tennessee, his remarks drew an enthusiastic applause. And it drew praise in certain sectors of higher education because of its emphasis on boosting student access and success. 'The president's proposal certainly fits into that category,' said Dr. Walter G. Bumphus, president and CEO of the American Association of Community Colleges. 'This is an exciting day for the nation's community colleges.' But among policymakers, analysts and college access advocates, the planknown formally as America's College Promisedrew skepticism about its workability and practicality. It also drew questions about the extent to which the plan would truly benefit the students who need it the most and why the president doesn't focus more on finding ways to fund the Pell Grant program that helps low-income students pay for college."

"In a policy climate enamored with technology and distance learning, the Freedom and Citizenship Program at Columbia University stands out for its commitment to books and teachers. For the past six years, low-income, mostly minority, high school students have arrived on Columbia University's campus to take a three-week intensive seminar based on the Columbia College Core Curriculum. These students return to campus throughout the academic year to research a contemporary political issue, such as immigration and prison reform. As Casey Blake, the American studies professor who directs the program explains: 'The goal is not only to introduce the students to the centuries-old debate about the meaning of freedom and citizenship but also to prepare them for lives as active, engaged citizens.'"

"FUEL an acronym for the organization's old name, Families United in Educational Leadership is a Boston-based college savings program that matches within a certain range the amount each family saves for a student's education. But it does much more than that, teaching low-income families many of whom are immigrants how to navigate the higher-education process, from finding the right school to paying for it. Through a series of monthly workshops, the program, which partners with schools and community organizations in Lynn, Chelsea, and Boston, focuses on helping the entire family, not just the student."