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"'If you walk through the community and ask kids who their favorite basketball player is, they'll say 'LeBron James,'' he said. 'And so many students can identify with him because of his childhood experiences, growing up in poverty.'"

"Things could have been different for Charles Shelton's daughter. The 26-year-old Battle Creek man said he recently went through a divorce that turned nasty. He said he faced legal problems and went to jail, putting him out of a job and out of his home. He ended up at the Haven of Rest Ministries homeless shelter downtown."

"Voucher programs provide money for low-income students to leave failing public schools and enroll in private schools. The voucher program proposed last session would have pegged the value of the vouchers at half the per-pupil expenditure for the county."

"Two South Dakota organizations will receive funding from a Minnesota-based foundation for job training, public policy education and promotion of asset-building among low-income families."

"In the last four years, Michigan's brutal economy, the shredding of the state's safety net and the national foreclosure crisis have more than tripled the number of homeless students, as reported this week in a four-part Free Press series, 'Michigan's Homeless Students.'"

"Some officials question the validity of the graduation rate, though few people dispute the school district is wrestling with some serious issues. Problems plaguing Lakewood's schools were highlighted in a needs assessment study completed by state education officials in 2008."

"Thousands of Detroit children from low-income families stuck on waiting lists to get into the Head Start early learning program because of poor management by the city may get new opportunities."

"Crosby Middle School eighth-grader Breya Jones said she was pretty sure she understood what homeless people looked like, and until a couple of weeks ago, that image didn't look anything like her. She had no idea that at least 28 of her schoolmates are considered to be homeless by the district."

"Crosby Middle School eighth-grader Breya Jones said she was pretty sure she understood what homeless people looked like, and until a couple of weeks ago, that image didn't look anything like her. She had no idea that at least 28 of her schoolmates are considered to be homeless by the district."

"Thomasboro, in west Charlotte, gets extra federal and local aid because most students come from low-income homes. Ballantyne, in the county's southern tip, is more than twice the size, with a low poverty level."

"Senior citizens in Preble County, Ohio, and in five Indiana counties received holiday gifts of food and other items through the Preble County Council on Aging and the Richmond-based Area 9 In-Home and Community Services Agency."

"Under the program, the van would offer voluntary treatments to second- and seventh-graders at schools with the highest percentage of students on free or reduced-price lunches. The age groups reflect when permanent molars have erupted. The health department, which says 47,600 low-income Pinellas kids have dental needs, would operate the vehicle with a hygienist, assistant and clerk."