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"As education groups battle over which California tax initiative would give the biggest boost to schools, advocates for low-income residents fear safety-net programs remain vulnerable no matter what happens on the ballot in November."

"Brooks said the group's legislative priorities this year are to get the state to do more about child abuse deaths, prevent superintendents from assigning teachers who are being disciplined to alternative school programs, promote an earned income tax credit for low-income families and reduce the number of children jailed for minor offenses through use of diversion programs."

"A pilot project at Central Elementary School aims to lay the groundwork for poor young children so they're prepared to learn to read when they enter kindergarten. The effort is a collaboration of the nonprofit United Way of Whatcom County, the school and the Ferndale School District."

"Imagine if parents and children participated in programs that provided education and skills for both at the same time. It is happening in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the Community Action Project's CareerAdvance program where parents whose children are enrolled in local Head Start programs have the opportunity to earn credentials in nursing and health technology..."

"A group of Barnes Elementary School parents are complaining about what they describe as inequality for kindergartners. During a Beaverton School District listening session this week, Barnes Elementary parent Jennifer Osawa read a letter signed by parents of children in half-day kindergarten classes, saying the high-poverty school has fewer full-day kindergarten options than low-poverty schools of similar size."

"Those cuts would almost halve the grant amount for more than 26,000 deserving students at nonprofit private colleges across the state, even though such grant awards comprise less than 3 percent of the state's budget. This measure would block access to higher education and sacrifice the aspirations of low-income students for a minimal, if any, improvement to the state's bottom line."

"Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling's tie-breaking vote enabled Republicans to deliver a legislative victory to Gov. Bob McDonnell on Friday, as the Virginia Senate passed legislation to award tax credits for contributions to private school scholarships for needy students."

"'California has the "finest system of higher education in the world,' but it's in peril because of budget cuts, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom said... The public must be made to understand the danger, he said, adding people wrongly think the system is managing despite having been cut by $2 billion in the last year. Over a few years, a system of higher education that took a century of investment is being destroyed, he said."

"Though Noble officials say waivers and payment plans are available, 90 percent of students are low-income, raising questions about the affordability of discipline fees. "I can't imagine that a policy like this wouldn't result in some families leaving,' Mr. Welner said."

"Mayor Rahm Emanuel, our heat-seeking Missile and a strong proponent of charters, heralds Noble for knowing the 'secret sauce' of strong educational performance. But challenges posed by a high-poverty student population remain daunting, no matter the sauce. Noble's system of fines is unusual, if not unprecedented."

"'I believe the single biggest factor (in the achievement gap) is poverty,' Rhodes said. The home life and background of children affect what they know when they enter the system and when they return to school after breaks, he said."

"Living in rural North Carolina, Linda Sue Jones doesn't see her teenage son as the archetype of a national trend. But 15-year-old Josh, as a boy who lives in the South in a household headed by a single woman, is characteristic of the exploding numbers of children in the USA living in poverty numbers exacerbated by the recession that has pushed many families into poverty for the first time."