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"The theory: Kim Black, president of the Pinellas teachers union, suggested a flood of low-income students weighed down Pinellas' progress. She wondered whether the district adjusted quickly enough to more challenging demographics. 'It hasn't been this bad here in years," she said of the numbers of kids in poverty.'"

"President Barack Obama's recent proposal to 'train 2 million Americans with skills that will lead directly to a job' barely scratches the surface of one of the nation's most vexing labor problems."

"The House and Senate are debating a provision that would tie unemployment benefits to a high school diploma or a GED and to drug testing."

"But one of the stories that I find replaying over and over in my head is a story I heard right here in America's backyard, at St. Paul Elementary School in Clarendon County, South Carolina. The determined and energetic principal there, Rosa Dingle, told me about a recent school day when one of her teachers called her down to her classroom and asked her to watch the class for half an hour."

"Every year, 42,000 children start kindergarten in Oregon. The state's high child poverty rate leads officials to believe that as many as 15,000 arrive unprepared to dive in and learn fast enough. Children unready for kindergarten take extra money to educate and are likely to drop out of high school --a huge problem in a state where the on-time graduation rate is 67 percent."

"About 34 percent of Oshkosh high schoolers come from low-income families, according to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. In 2010, 26 percent of low-income high school students had not obtained a regular high school diploma within four years.'These students need more from us, not less.'"

"Nearly two dozen LAUSD schools will get an infusion of $2 million to help them cope with the loss next year of federal money used to teach impoverished students, officials said Friday."

"That so-called achievement gap between more-affluent students and their low-income and minority counterparts is at the heart of state efforts to improve academic performance, acting Education Commissioner Chris Cerf said Wednesday."

"It is a Federally Qualified Health Center, which allows it to receive higher reimbursement rates for Medicaid patients and compete for additional grant funding. To earn FQHC status, a clinic must prove that it provides health care to a medically underserved area. More than half of the residents along Pioneer Drive, the area's main street, live below the federal poverty level. A new facility will allow for health education on ways to manage and prevent disorders, such as diabetes and heart disease, that are prevalent in the low-income area, Smith said.

"Newly released standardized test scores for Garden State students show overall improvement, with low-income and minority students making steady gains on high school exams. But state education officials said the improvement doesn't amount to a meaningful closing of the so-called achievement gap in New Jersey's public schools."

"Imagine a law that would enable low-income, academically at-risk children to receive improved educational opportunities, save taxpayers tens of millions of dollars a year and improve public schools."

"Gov. Pat Quinn is pushing state lawmakers to raise the age students can legally drop out of school from 17 to 18, a move aimed at improving graduation rates but one that local educators say won't accomplish much unless the state also provides the money to keep at-risk students in school."