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"Since its inception three years ago, the school-readiness project has reached more than 300 low-income families through parent classes and workshops, bilingual story time events twice monthly at the Rochester community center, family events with an early-literacy focus throughout the school year and referral services for families in need of social services and health care."

"The two women represent a significant segment of the aging population: older adults scrimping by month to month, counting on Social Security as their safety net. One in five elderly Californians, and 46 percent of those who are single or widowed, rely on Social Security for 90 percent or more of their income, according to Social Security Administration data. Even when bolstered by pensions and savings plans, Social Security makes up at least half of the income for 52 percent of older Californians."

"Funding for subsidized child care should be based on a region's poverty levels, the number of children younger than five and the number who fall into must serve' categories, local child care providers and advocates told a state early learning leader on Thursday."

"George Elementary in Jackson is one of the state's top achieving schools despite also having a poverty rate of 95 percent. Now, the school is being awarded for that success. The Mississippi Center for Public Policy announced today its list of Exceed Schools, a ranking of the state's 20 highest scoring schools with poverty rates higher than 90 percent."

"University of California officials reached out to thousands of high school students across California on Thursday in a coordinated effort to provide hands-on guidance on financial aid, writing application essays and meeting other eligibility requirements. The goal of the Achieve UC initiative was to help students from low-income communities better understand how to prepare for higher education."

"In defense of Anderson, his motives, while not defensible, are understandable. He, and others, are frustrated by low-income students trapped in failing schools, and the perceived societal neglect of those students' social and emotional needs. Other trends also are at work here. Drugs are a lucrative shortcut. Performance-enhancing drugs in sports are ubiquitous (see Armstrong, Lance). Pharmaceutical companies seek to expand the indications for the use of their drugs (off-labeling') to increase their profits."

"Low-income families need assistance early to ensure children enter school on par with their more affluent peers, said Rich Huddleston, executive director of Arkansas Advocates for Children in Little Rock. Programs that help include those that provide good prenatal care for mothers, promote a strong bond between parents and children and ensure that families have access to quality child-care programs. Children from low-income families also need quality programs after school and during the summer, he said."

"It's ironic that, just as the U.S. poverty rate rises to its highest level in more than four decades, the Pell Grant program -- the most important source of federal aid for low-income students aspiring to a college education -- celebrates its 40th anniversary. There is good reason to celebrate the Pell Grant's huge impact on expanding college access."

"Dozens of rigorous, independent studies have shown that PBS children's programming results in dramatically improved literacy skills, which narrows the achievement gap between low-income and middle-income kids and increases the desire of kids to read and visit libraries and bookstores. The impact of PBS on preparing preschoolers for school, especially among low-income families, is nothing less than astounding."

"The use of such psychotropic medications, covered by Medicaid, to improve impulse control, listening, and study habits has yielded some positive results. Another generation of poor children who attend inadequate schools should not have to leave school with little prospect for prosperity, just because they live in a society that doesn't fully recognize the value of investing in their futures. Still, the less-than-discriminate use of psychotropic drugs for children carries troubling physical and psychological risks, including addiction, higher blood pressure, stunted growth, and, rarely, psychotic episodes."

"Parents' lack of education often translates into poverty for their children and increases the likelihood that their children will struggle in school, research shows."

"Three Monterey County public schools have joined an elite group of achievers after reaching a level of academic performance once viewed as out of reach for schools with high poverty rates, education officials said Thursday."