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"A new study revealing the lasting impact of a solid preschool education especially in disadvantaged communities was released Thursday, just as Illinois' governor considers a state budget plan that slashes funding to early childhood programs."

"Preschool has surprisingly enduring benefits lasting well into adulthood, according to one of the biggest, longest follow-up studies of its kind. Better jobs, less drug abuse and fewer arrests are among advantages found in the study that tracked more than 1,000 low-income, mostly black Chicago kids for up to 25 years."

"LCCS members refurbish some of the computers, re-use some of the components and recycle the rest. The refurbished computers are available for a low fee to nonprofit organizations and individuals with a low income."

"After four decades, Education & Life Training Center in Fort Collins has discontinued its Pack2School program that provided backpacks and back-to-school supplies for about 1,000 low-income children in kindergarten through eighth grade."

"Financial aid dollars from the US government represents up to 90 percent of revenues of for-profit colleges. When the Department of Education laid down new conditions for financial aid access, the colleges' shares didn't tank. They soared on Wall Street."

"Preschoolers as young as four are not only aware of class distinctions, they unknowingly perpetuate them. That's the conclusion of a new study in which the linguistic behaviour typical of upper middle-class kids - speaking to adults as equals, interrupting more, and "using their words" - was routinely rewarded in the classroom - usually at the expense of less economically-advantaged students."

"In its annual survey, the American Association of School Administrators found that districts nationwide expect to lay off 227,000 employees in 2011-12 due to shortfalls, 57 percent of whom will be teachers, 27 percent support personnel such as maintenance workers and custodians, and 6 percent administration."

"Saying it lacks the expertise internally, the Georgia Department of Education plans to spend $758,000 to bring in outside help to develop a system for evaluating teachers and administrators based on how their students perform academically."

"It might be difficult to predict the exact changes that are coming to Medicare for future and perhaps current beneficiaries of what has become this country's largest financial problem."

"The Department of Education has increased its surveillance of programs that get billions of dollars in federal aid but leave many students with crushing debt and credentials worth little on the job market. Under the new rules, programs would lose their eligibility to dispense federal student aid and as a practical matter, be shut down if, over the next four years, their graduates fail to meet new benchmarks for loan repayment and ratio of debt to income."

"When the Illinois income tax rate increased by 67 percent in January, taxpayers might have reasonably expected they would be getting a little more out of state government for their money."

"If a local developer gets his way - and $5 million from the federal government - the stately former Flint school, with its tall windows and arched entryways, could become low-income housing for senior citizens."