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"Fifty-two percent of the increase in school aid in fiscal 2013 is for general operating aid, and 76% of that will go to high-needs school districts, defined as those with high rates of poverty relative to the district's wealth, analysts said."

"Even among supporters, there's dissension over whether vouchers should only be offered to low-income students on a limited basis or made available to anyone. There's also division among black and Hispanic leaders as to whether vouchers help or hurt kids in urban schools."

" But in the past 30 years, teachers have discovered the power of the courses and exams to change the lives of poor children. Last year, according to the College Board, 375,439 low-income students took 615,315 AP exams - 23 percent of the total taken."

"Northwest Youth Services was able to obtain a small windfall for its new shelter for homeless youth, despite dwindling federal support for housing programs."

"Premont I.S.D. is one of just two Texas districts facing possible closing this year -- the other is North Forest I.S.D in northeast Houston. Located in Jim Wells County, which has struggled with high teen birth and poverty rates, Premont is a primarily Hispanic town of 2,600 sandwiched between the relative hubs of Alice and Falfurrias on Highway 281. "

"The number of elderly residents living in poverty has increased 42 percent in Central Texas over the past 10 years, according to the U.S. census, and demographers say the city is seeing the first signs of a growing wave that's been dubbed the 'silver tsunami.'"

"The Heritage Area Agency on Aging is one of 13 organizations in Iowa, and one of more than 600 nationwide, that are funded by the federal Older Americans Act established in 1965 to provide anyone older than 60 - primarily low income individuals - with healthy meals through coordinating, advocating and funding community programs."

"Head Start is a tremendous asset to Monterey County. A federally funded early-childhood program, Head Start serves low-income families. But it has been under the microscope since 2007, when Congress passed a law aimed at weeding out Head Start centers that weren't up to par."

"Until recently, Portland Elementary, where most students come from low-income homes, was among the elementary schools with the farthest to go to reach the desegregation goals that Jefferson County Public Schools have followed since 2008."

"'What these results show is really the dramatic differences between kids from high-income homes and low-income homes, and that's the great gap in New York State,' said Martin Cantor of Melville, a private consultant who has advised both county and state officials on economic and educational issues."

"The overwhelming problems contributing to poor school quality in South Carolina are pockets of poverty across our state and school policies and practices that mirror and increase social inequities for children once they enter many schools."

"'From an educational standpoint, much like it is across the country in urban areas, we saw a huge achievement gap in Chattanooga,' he said. Project GRAD -- Graduation Really Achieves Dreams -- provides help to nearly 150,000 low-income students in 22 school districts across the country and Pennsylvania. The education reform model puts an emphasis on high school graduation and college completion."