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"For example, in an election where a record number of women were elected to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and women, who constitute a majority of the electorate, voted 55-44 percent in support of President Obama, election eve polls point to a stark reality. Women, by a wide margin, apparently believed the president's policies would be more supportive of women and children than those of Governor Romney."

"The statistics never fail to startle: During the 2011-12 school year, 4,922 students enrolled in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools were identified by CMS as homeless. Within CMS, there is an elementary school where one out of every four students is homeless. They are among 1.6 million kids nationally trying to focus on school while living in shelters and pay-by-the-week motels, doubled-up or tripled up with other families, living in buildings unsuitable for human habitation and even sleeping in cars."

"In a modern house of poverty, there are still the bare essentials: shelter, clothing, food (although almost 40 percent of children in North Philadelphia are food-insecure). But unlike in Richmond's era, when free play was more prevalent, the faces of too many of our children reflect off television, computer, and video game screens. These youngsters have entertainment, not education."

"It's one of five Virginia institutions to receive a $1.25 million Department of Education 'Upward Bound' grant, which targets high school students from low-income families or families in which neither parent holds a bachelor's degree. The Virginia Community Colleges Association has recognized several of the school's professors for their work this year."

"The CAP report points out that 10 states have publicly declared that they will opt out of the Medicaid expansion, and more are undecided. CAP then found that more than 164,000 seniors live below the poverty line in states that may opt out of the Medicaid expansion, using 2011 data. That means approximately 434,000 seniors could be left without insurance annually by 2021. And this is a conservative estimate - it's based on 2011 data, and the population of seniors will grow significantly over the next decade."

"The Syracuse district would lose by far the most -- $1.6 million -- among the 44 districts in Cayuga, Madison, Onondaga and Oswego counties. The combined loss for all the districts for the 2013-14 school year would be $4,971,678, according to the association. The cuts would come in programs that mainly benefit the most vulnerable students -- children with disabilities and children in poverty."

"Failure to reach a deal by the new year would usher in broad tax increases and mandatory federal spending cuts of about $109 billion a year through 2021. NEA officials say more than $4 billion a year of that would be slashed from education, with much it coming from programs aimed at helping struggling schools, low-income students and the disabled."

"Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett vowed Monday to move forcefully to address the city's crisis in K-8 truancy and absenteeism, declaring: 'We must work to shut down the dropout pipeline.'"

"Washington is in the middle of a fight on sequestration.' Unless the government takes action to balance our national budget, we will face the reality of devastating cuts to all government-funded budgets -- the so-called fiscal cliff. Unfortunately, here in the Clark County School District, this bickering could translate to slashed funding for federal education programs that serve our neediest students such as Title I funding for low-income students and programs for special needs students through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)."

"She knew that colleges sent out millions of letters to 11th-graders who took the Princeton Review prep course. The whole Dear Tabitha campaign was about as personal as fliers from Tire Express. But nearing the end of her junior year of high school, without a single item of value to secure her future not even a $50 U.S. savings bond from a departed relative the mail was all she had."

"If the Texas Legislature is in session, there must be a fight about Medicaid going on. The health care program for the disabled, the elderly poor and the impoverished raises hackles every two years, mostly because the number in need keeps rising alongside health care costs."

"This is what poverty sometimes looks like in America: parents here in Appalachian hill country pulling their children out of literacy classes. Moms and dads fear that if kids learn to read, they are less likely to qualify for a monthly check for having an intellectual disability."