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"For decades, states were free to set their own goals, but they failed to narrow achievement gaps between students of different races and income groups and failed to deliver on the promise of educational opportunity for all, he said. 'This feels like a betrayal of low-income kids, of kids of color,' said Amy Wilkins of the Education Trust, an advocacy group."

"Since 2010, the percentage of Georgians 65 or older living in poverty has actually fallen, while the median income has risen slightly. For working-age adults, the opposite is true."

"In Washington Heights, graduates of Stuyvesant High School and the Bronx High School of Science run the Science Schools Initiative, a yearlong free tutoring program held for three hours every Saturday morning. To qualify, students must show promise on a diagnostic exam and meet the city's benchmark for poverty."

"Angela Bell with the Higher Education Policy Commission says the state has a large number of low-income and first-generation students. She tells the Charleston Gazette ( http://bit.ly/rj1TpT) that many of these students are less likely to complete their degrees and then pay off their loans."

"'The poverty question was startling,' said Joseph Morris, a professor and director of the college's Center for Applied Politics, which conducted the poll, 'as was the fact that a strong majority of Pennsylvanians have had to make lifestyle changes because of the economy.'"

"But Quisenberry said most of those poor-performing schools are in high-poverty areas, which tend to have lower-performing students, research shows. What's important, he said, is that research has shown that the longer students are in a charter school, 'the more successful they are.'"

"It is not news that quality early childhood education is vital to the academic success of most children - especially those who live in poverty - but the issue is getting new attention from policymakers, corporate funders and others who recognize it as fundamental to real reform."

"'Our children in poverty continue to escalate ... in our area and in the nation,' she said. 'We have more children that are homeless than ever before.'"

"'The grant could make a big difference in Mississippi, where about 33 percent of children live in poverty, Grace said. That's a higher percentage than any other state. 'This is about children, and that's very clear in this proposal,' said Grace, director of early childhood development for Children's Defense Fund."

"One example is Head Start. Maine is one of only 11 states that contribute to the federal program for low-income preschool children. ''It is from that perspective that we propose the elimination of all state general fund support,'' she said."

"The University of California Davis will create a Center for Poverty Research, one of three in the country that will study the causes and effects of policies that deal with poverty."

"'When we look at our growth, we really look at growth within ourselves. We don't do apples and oranges comparisons, because our district is so unique. We have rural schools and we have high poverty schools,' she said, adding that the school system is still reeling from changes because of its desegregation lawsuit."