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"The public school system lost about 12,500 black students in that decade -- roughly half, according to figures from the California Department of Education. The exodus is reflected in the latest census count, which showed black residents leaving Oakland and other urban areas of California in great numbers."

"Poverty is assuredly a factor in the achievement gap. But it's not the whole story. Students who receive free or reduced-price school meals, the common measure of poverty, are performing better than black students."

"Hispanics now make up the largest group of children living in poverty, the first time in U.S. history that poor white kids have been outnumbered by poor children of another race or ethnicity, according to a new study."

"For one thing, to win waivers, states would have to meet a lot of new conditions and federal requirements, which don't fit easily with Montana, Miller said. What is really needed, he said, is that Congress must rewrite the 'failed' education law."

"The correlation between education and employment is clear: The better the education, the more likely a person will seek and find employment. The U.S. unemployment rate for those without a high school diploma is 14.3 percent; for those with a bachelor's degree or higher, it is 4.3 percent."

"The Storyline from the latest MCAS results is disappointing: Overall, our schools are only making slow progress narrowing the gap between low-income and middle-class kids. But the charter school folks have reason to be happy"

"Both are part of a growing group of Georgia teachers who don't have education degrees nor traditional teaching backgrounds but are now staffing some of the state's most poverty challenged schools."

"It's not just children who live in the inner city, or struggling rural towns. It's not just children of color or from a particular ethnic group newly arrived in the country. And it's not just children from single-parent households. Poverty today touches families in all walks of life."

"'The city needs a homeless shelter. This is not the spot. This community needs a new home for the Friendly Kitchen. This is not the spot,' he said. Erik Williams, a member of the Concord School Board and a Rumford neighborhood resident, agreed."

"No wonder the lottery had its best year in 2010. And this year promises to be successful, too, with more North Carolinians falling into poverty. Many see a potential lottery payoff as their best chance to get ahead. Of course, the odds are against them."

"Nearly 21,000 students in Oregon public schools lived in homeless situations at some point during the last school year. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Susan Castillo says that's 1,500 more than the previous year."

"The district's homeless population of 800 is a slight decrease, but it remains high compared with six years ago when it served 475 homeless students. Oregon's homeless student population continues to swell, with 1,500 new students last year for a total of 20,545. That's a 152 percent increase during the past seven years."