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"South Carolina was among a handful of states last week to be left out of a more than $21.5 million federal grant program that covers testing fees for low-income students."

"Open to any low-income family with a child slated to attend a school rated C or below, the program could technically have drawn as many as 380,000 applicants. Yet more families ultimately asked for a spot than could be accommodated at the 119 participating schools. Of the 9,750 applications deemed eligible, about 5,600 got matched to a seat."

"A growing group of education advocates is agitating for more time in schools, arguing that low-income children in particular need more time to catch up as schools face increasing pressure to improve student test scores."

"The percentage of Washington students classified as homeless in 2010-11 was up nearly 20 percent from the previous year and more than 50 percent over the five-year span, according to the report."

"Two hundred volunteers from Elevation Rock Hill stood outside the store Friday and Saturday to help stuff the bus' with school supplies for children in need during tax-free weekend."

"A representative at Episcopal Commons, a low-income housing agency for Perry County seniors and disabled people, cited Duncannon as well when, in fact, the nearest ID center is 271/2 miles away in Cumberland County, a 45-minute drive away."

"One local woman, however, is working to change that. Lynette Ramirez, the founder of Ready 4 Reading, established a book club more than two years ago to get books into the hands of children living in poverty after she learned that illiteracy was growing at a rate of 2.5 million people a year."

"For the first time, the state called attention not only to schools that failed to make the grade but also to those that soared. Twenty-seven schools that receive federal poverty money are hailed as model schools' whose highly effective techniques will be studied and shared."

"By next July, 3,000 low-income or minority students in southeastern Wisconsin will choose a career path, talk to professionals in that industry and map a high school and post-secondary education strategy under a new initiative from the Greater Milwaukee Committee's Talent Dividend."

"Low-income seniors often end up in costly nursing homes, even though they don't need the skilled nursing services. The guiding philosophy behind supportive housing is to provide a cost-effective setting for seniors who need help with daily routines and can't afford private-pay assisted living, but don't require nursing care. Illinois is a leader in affordable assisted living, experts say. Other states are experimenting with assisted living for low-income seniors, but Illinois has purpose-built facilities that have assisted services and accept Medicaid."

"Poverty and low-performing schools go hand-in-hand in South Carolina, but some schools in the Midlands are defying those annual expectations, including five Richland 1 schools that earned high marks for raising student achievement."

"A recent KIDS COUNT Data Book for 2012 reported that about one in six Utah children now live in poverty. And Salt Lake City's homeless shelter, the Road Home, is bursting at the seams due to a recent influx of homeless families in need of temporary housing. In response, two similar but unrelated campaigns are under way to help low-income children gear up for the coming school year."