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"Those debating the Baker plan don't seem to realize that administrators and teachers have increased significantly the number of Prince George's students taking college-level courses like Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate. More students than ever before are passing those exams, written and graded by outside experts."

"The Legislature has another important task this session: making a much-needed adjustment to the State Grant Program. This program provides funds directly to low-income students to help them pay for their education unmet financial need is one of the main reasons students are unable to attend or complete college."

"Low-income and minority students are thriving in the current system, making bigger gains than any other groups in graduating career- and college-ready. Can we do better? Yes, but we should not replace a system that is moving us in the direction we want to go with a system that will throw us in the wrong direction."

"Among thousands of Oklahoma students who could be held back in third grade for failing a state reading test next year, a disproportionate share likely will be low-income children, an Oklahoma Watch analysis of state data found."

"PEOPLE is a pre-college pipeline for students of color and low- income students, most of whom are the first in their families to potentially attend college. Their journey prepares them to apply, be successfully admitted and enroll at the University of Wisconsin- Madison."

"The results are now in, and they suggest that basic information can substantially increase the number of low-income students who apply to, attend and graduate from top colleges. Among a control group of low-income students with SAT scores good enough to attend top colleges but who did not receive the information packets only 30 percent gained admission to a college matching their academic qualifications. Among a similar group of students who did receive a packet, 54 percent gained admission, according to the researchers."

"The Rapier Family Foundation donated $50,000 toward BCFS Health and Human Services' West San Antonio community development project, Guadalupe Street Coffee. The coffee shop is located in the heart of the West Side, where only 56 percent of local residents over the age of 25 graduated from high school or achieved any degree of higher education. More than 52 percent of residents live below the poverty level. Guadalupe Street Coffee provide job training to teenagers and educational opportunities for high school students. Young people are encouraged to stop by for poetry nights, movies and dance shows. Teens can also get help with homework and filling out financial aid forms. They also learn about healthy eating and proper nutrition."

"An anonymous $2 million gift to the Denver Scholarship Foundation will provide aid to a group of students who are ineligible for federal assistance for college. The gift will aid Denver Public Schools students who are undocumented immigrants but have received federal deferred-action status. [] Now, DPS students who receive deferred-action status under a program to grant temporary work permits to immigrants who were brought here as children will be able to skip the FAFSA requirement and prove, instead, that they qualify for free or reduced lunch, which is the district's measure of poverty."

"Some of the emptiest buildings are in low-income neighborhoods, where more than half of families there have flocked to fast-growing charter schools. Closing such underenrolled buildings, the chancellor said, will allow her to save $8.5 million a year and concentrate resources on teaching and learning."

"The widely accepted life expectancy on the street is about 64. Without beefed-up efforts to help the aging homeless, Dennis Culhane, the study's chief author, estimates that 10 years from now, half of the single indigent adults born from 1959 to 1964 will be dead - and in 15 years, almost all will be gone."

"The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Stacey Campfield, would reduce a parent's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families payments by up to 30 percent for students who fail a grade. It was amended to limit maximum penalties to parents who do not attend parent-teacher conferences, enroll their child in tutoring or attend a parenting course. Special needs students would be exempt from the law."

"Proponents say tax-credit and voucher programs offer families a way to escape failing public schools. But critics warn that by drawing money away from public schools, such programs weaken a system left vulnerable after years of crippling state budget cuts while showing little evidence that students actually benefit."