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Commentary: Robert Giloth, the Annie E. Casey Foundation

"After years of increases, the poverty rate in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools held steady this year at 54 percent, virtually unchanged from last fall. Almost 78,000 of the 143,600 students in preK-12 qualify for lunch subsidies to low-income families, used nationally to gauge student poverty levels."

"There were about 12,400 homeless students in Jefferson County Public Schools during the 2011-2012 school year. That amounted to about 13 percent of all students and a 21 percent increase from the prior year, according to the housing coalition. The school district's figures show about 100 fewer homeless students, with the difference attributed to students who didn't finish the school year in the system."

"When poverty levels and student segregation are taken into account, the U.S. education system is shown to be among the very best in the world. The proportion of children in the U.S. living in poverty is above 20 percent; in Texas, it is above 25 percent. But in Finland, the poverty rate is below 5 percent. There is practically no poverty at all in Singapore because most low-wage jobs there are filled by residents of nearby countries whose children don't take tests in Singapore. Some countries segregate students into college and vocational tracks with only the college-bound included in the tests."

"Haycock said Collier's student demographics are more acute than the rest of the country. Of Collier's 43,247 students, about 44 percent are Hispanic and 12 percent are black. About 60 percent of Collier's students are low-income. About 47 percent come from homes in which English isn't the first language."

"Residents will receive mental and health services from the San Fernando Valley Community Health Center and Northeast Valley Health Corp. A case manager will be on-site to help residents find activities through partnerships with area public and nonprofit agencies and faith communities. The five-story LEED Silver certified apartment already houses seniors age 55 and older who are considered very low income. Thirty of the units are reserved for seniors who are homeless and mentally ill at the time they enter housing."

"The tax-credit scholarship is one of Florida's five scholarships. It strives to give low-income students access to the same learning options now available to more affluent families, via a $4,335 scholarship. This program complements other choice programs, such as magnet and charter schools, and is built on the truism that students learn in different ways."

"Head Start provides educational and health services to preschool age children from low-income families. SDC's $21 million program serves 3, 000 children at 33 sites, 10 run by the anti-poverty agency and the others run by delegates or community agencies. MPS currently has 1, 000 Head Start seats and a grant of $6 million funded through June 2013, district spokesman Tony Tagliavia said."

"The Generation Next partnership, to be formally announced Thursday, will focus first on fostering research-based strategies for closing racial and economic achievement gaps in Minneapolis and St. Paul, both district and charter schools. But it hopes to expand to suburban districts if it demonstrates results. New federal data this week indicated that Minnesota ranked last in four-year graduation rates for Latino and American Indian students, second to last for black students and near the bottom for low-income students."

"The rankings also consider factors such as graduation rates and achievement gaps, which are differences in the test scores of students considered advantaged or not advantaged due to poverty, race or disability. But Merrill's population of students considered to be disadvantaged is so high the state couldn't give the school an achievement gap score, Director of Curriculum and Assessment Julie Mosher said. The school's typical' student population is too small to determine statistically reliable data."

"While there has been a growing recognition of the correlation between poverty and school performance, little has been to done to systemically address it. Recently, a survey for the Normandy schools indicated that 111 organizations were working with the schools. This activity, unless strategically planned, will have minimal value."

"As an increasingly elite D.C. begins walling itself off from the masses, the rough outline of an architecturally restored yet soulless city emerges. Redlined school boundaries around wealthy neighborhoods keep out less-privileged students. Closed streets and parking restrictions make for a walkable city.' For the low-income resident who must travel longer distances to get to work and stores, a better description would be trudge town.'"