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"One in five children in Illinois live in poverty, according to Illinois Kids Count 2012 data released Thursday by the organization Voices for Illinois Children. The organization released its 2012 data Thursday morning at various locations throughout the state, including East St. Louis, and the report shows an economy that is still struggling with poverty and a high joblessness rate."

"Stone said he started looking for 100 students and had established the whereabouts of 70. From there, the volunteers were able to account for 25 students and two weeks later bumped that figure up to 35 who returned to class."

"Under the current law, kindergarten is not mandatory, and children can stay home until they turn 6. As a result, an estimated 3,000 city children are not enrolled. Education advocates say that hurts many of the neediest kids, including those with special needs and those in foster care."

"The center, at 600 New York Ave., sits among the Arlington schools with the largest numbers of students living below the poverty line. At least 90 percent of the students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches, more than enough to qualify for additional Title I federal funding, said Carole Hagler, the district's director of state and federal programs."

"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."