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"What began about six years ago as an idea to give low-income children in West Chicago more than just a head start before kindergarten has become a reality for 150 infants, toddlers, preschoolers and their families. Educare of West DuPage, a state-of-the-art preschool, recently opened across the park from West Chicago Elementary District 33's Pioneer Elementary School, which has the highest percentage of low-income students of any elementary school in DuPage County."

"The teachers insisted that any evaluation has to take into account the fact that poverty and other social problems make many of their students virtually unteachable. This is true, but there's also a circular element to their arguments. The widespread poverty and social dysfunction are at least partly rooted in the failure of the last generation of schoolchildren to get adequate instruction in Chicago public schools."

"The fact is that states with strong unions tend to have higher student test scores than states, such as South Carolina, that are non-union. Of course, that's because there is a strong correlation between unionization, poverty and student test scores. That's because test scores remain primarily a function of poverty and affluence. In other words, unionized states tend to be more affluent and non-union states tend to be high-poverty. We must look beyond the union element and recognize that urban teachers in Chicago share with South Carolina the burden of poverty that is reflected in measurable student outcomes."

"The commonly perceived under-performance of schools in high-poverty areas is a reflection of the truth of most such schools: the effects of poverty itself -- and not, as a rule, a lacking in quality teachers there. The nation's wildly disproportionate level of child poverty is "the number 1 problem," she asserts. Fix poverty and you fix the school."

"A San Francisco nonprofit named Earn is offering low-income families in the Bay Area and Los Angeles a 3-to-1 match worth up to $1,500 per child on their education savings. For every $1 an eligible family puts in up to $500 per child, the program will put in $3, up to $1,500 per child. The money is deposited in an FDIC-insured bank account and can be used to pay for educational expenses from middle through high school including tutoring, computers, summer and after-school enrichment programs."

"Lake Michigan College is one of seven colleges across the nation participating in an experimental program to see if coordinated financial help, such as child care subsidies and food assistance, helps low-income students complete a degree."

"The overlap between schools with high minority populations and those with high levels of poverty was significant. According to the report, the typical black or Latino student attends a school where almost two out of every three classmates come from low-income families. Mr. Orfield said that schools with mostly minority and poor students were likely to have fewer resources, less assertive parent groups and less experienced teachers. The issue of segregation hovers over many discussions about the future of education."

"The City Council gave a stamp of approval for the California Affordable Housing Agency to issue $12 million in bonds for a housing project for low-income seniors. The council approved the bond issue 4-2 even though the city is not responsible for issuing or repaying the Housing Revenue Bonds for the Orange Tree Senior Apartment project planned at 1511 Robinson St."

"A new program is giving Belmont High School students more help with improving their study skills and exploring college options. Last year, Sinclair Community College received a $1.5 million, five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education to establish and offer the Educational Talent Search program at Belmont. Christopher Welch, project director of the Educational Talent Search program at Belmont, explained the program is designed to provide academic and motivational support to low-income students and students who would be the first generation in their families to go to college."

"The fact is that teachers are being saddled with absurdly high expectations. Some studies have shown a correlation between student performance and teacher "effectiveness," depending how this elusive quality is measured. But there is a whole body of academic literature proving the stronger correlation between student performance and a much more important variable: family income."

"No one likes teachers strikes. But teachers are on the front line. In a time of spreading poverty and rising hunger, with harsh exploitation of the poor by landlords and payday lenders, poor children too often come to impoverished schools. Teachers take the rap for poor student performance without having the power to change what gets in the way of learning."

"Under the state's new accountability system, New Mexico schools with higher levels of poverty still generally received lower grades than their more affluent counterparts. That's true despite the state Public Education Department's efforts to control for the effects of poverty. State public education chief Hannah Skandera acknowledged a relationship between poverty and school grades, but she pointed to exceptions and stood by the system as a fair way to grade schools."