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"Illinois has just over 800 students in its eight state youth prisons. The average young inmate enters scoring between the fifth- and sixth-grade level in reading, and Gaffey said school records and the teens' own stories suggest that elementary-grade truancy is increasing across the state amid rising rates of child poverty and homelessness."

"Community Research Partners found that the state's policy making students at two-year schools ineligible for the Ohio College Opportunity Grant has resulted in college being less accessible to low-income and nontraditional students."

"More than 40 percent of U.S. children attend high-poverty schools and 22 percent of children are living below the poverty line, the government said. Public schools in poor communities have fewer resources, less-experienced teachers and worse facilities than schools in more-affluent communities - an imbalance that must be corrected by state and federal action, the commission said."

"The report said states should adopt finance systems that divided funds equitably, which doesn't mean evenly, the commission said, because some students need more support. It called upon the federal government to use incentives to push states in this direction, and for more money for schools with large numbers of low-income students."

"Westar Energy employees will be in Wichita on Wednesday to help low-income residents apply for assistance in paying their utility bills."

"A report from October 2012 is only the most recent of a long line of studies that show fleeting cognitive gains from Head Start. The rigorously designed study adds that there is little difference in the domains of social-emotional, health and parenting practices' between third-graders who attended a Head Start program and those who did not. The most severe critics object that Head Start has turned into nothing more than a massive jobs program for adults."

"There is no question that the tax-subsidized program has helped at least some low-income children move into private schools that their parents could never have afforded. However, there is also no question that the program has been and continues to be abused."

"Obama's emphasis on high quality is important. Preschool intervention programs vary in quality. But, at their best, they help children make the most of their early learning years at a time when their learning and study habits are being formed. One recent federal evaluation of Head Start, which is aimed at low-income preschoolers, found parents benefited, too, by learning to use appropriate discipline techniques and learning to spend more time reading to their children."

"Moreover, Obama's push for universal preschool acknowledges something that N.C. lawmakers should take note of: The kind of quality preschool that North Carolina has been providing is an economic tool. It is not only a lure for businesses, but increases the tax-paying base and saves the state money long-term. Research shows low-income students benefit significantly. They succeed better academically, graduate from high school more often and are more economically productive later in life."

"The most famous and frequently cited program was conducted at Perry Elementary School in Ypsilanti, Mich., during the 1960s, where the teachers focused on a creative process in which low-income children were encouraged to plan, initiate and discuss their learning activities. In addition to teaching the children for 2.5 hours during the school day, the teachers regularly visited their homes to reinforce the lessons and forge partnership with parents. Followed into adulthood, the Perry students were found to have lower dropout and arrest rates and higher incomes than those who had not attended preschool."

"Preschool advocates, who have weathered five years of dispiriting state budget cuts, have responded ecstatically to President Barack Obama's initiative for universal preschool for 4-year-olds, a major surge in federal involvement in education. And with a blueprint already in the works for a statewide preschool plan, California may be well positioned to begin offering preschool to the estimated 125,000 4-year-olds from low-income families who can't afford to enroll."

"Quality really matters. That's been pretty well documented. I would argue Perry, which has been most thoroughly evaluated, is extensive. In terms of the return on investment, per dollar return, the annual return for what you'd get on a bond or some kind of fixed income, you would have a rate that was 6-10 percent per year, which is extremely high. So even though it costs something, it's about the return is to society and to the individuals."