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"In April, the Indiana Legislature provided another option -- vouchers that allow low-and middle-income families to use public funds to help pay private school tuition. The Indiana school voucher program -- the nation's second statewide program -- has been a boon to parents such as Coffy and to more than 240 religious schools, most Catholic, now eligible to receive public funds."

The first thing he can do is to get back on his motorcycle and travel Alabama, visiting schools and spending quality time in them. Spend a day in a classroom of any high-poverty school. Don't just dash in, wander the halls for a few minutes and leave. Get to understand the context of what teachers and principals face daily.

"In the 2009-2010 school year, Danvers schools spent $158,000 to bus 151 homeless students living in local motels to attend classes in their hometown school districts. The bill last year was $72,000 for 143 students."

"The problem is particularly acute in South Carolina, which again ranks 45th in child well-being, with the portion of low-birthweight babies, children living in poverty and children in single-parent families increasing since 2000."

"The two Wellesley College graduates are trying to raise $20,000 for the Our Sisters' School, a tuition-free, school for fifth- to eighth-grade girls from disadvantaged backgrounds in New Bedford, Mass."

"In some cases, students from impoverished backgrounds are exempted from these payments if the class is required, but must pay for Advanced Placement courses or sports and other extracurricular activities. If they can't pay, they miss out."

"Produced only for English or math teachers in the fourth through eighth grades, they use a mathematical formula to compare how well students did on standardized tests with how well they were expected to do, taking into account their ethnicity, poverty level, prior test scores and other factors."

"But now the legislature has eviscerated state-funded pre-kindergarten, offering nothing to replace it. Meanwhile, as more families are pushed into grinding poverty, the number of at-risk students with no money to pay for pre-kindergarten is growing, and the constitution still requires state-funded school preparation for at-risk kids."

"Space is limited at the Uptown school, which since 1975 has offered free after-school music education to children from low-income families. Last summer some parents camped outside for four days to register their children in the first-come first-served program."

"Reville said the hope is that more quality time in school also will help bridge the achievement gap between students from low-income families and those from more affluent ones. In 2006, the state provided $6.5 million to 10 schools... to add 300 hours to their academic calendar in an effort to improve student achievement."

"Middletown schools have made gains in a decades-old struggle that has confounded schools across the country closing the achievement gap. Nationwide the 21-point scoring gap between Hispanic and white students hasn't changed significantly in 20 years, though scores for both groups on the national assessment rose, according to the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress report."

"'In all honesty, I do think the kids are excited to be back here,' said Tom Lucia, public relations director for the school. 'Lower-income families have a harder time filling their summers with enriching activities for their kids.'"