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Find the latest stories, research, and insights on policies, programs, and ideas shaping the national conversation on poverty and economic mobility.
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Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity leads research and consulting initiatives that identify and address barriers to economic well-being.
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The Idaho Statesman, May 20, 2010: Instructional coaches play a key role in helping Idaho's schools and students succeed
"Most teacher-coaching in Idaho has its roots in Reading First, a federally funded state program that started about seven years ago with 20 coaches in elementary schools that have relatively high poverty rates and low test scores."
The Boston Globe, May 20, 2010: Education chief says 300,000 teachers could lose jobs
"During his commencement speech, Duncan called teachers the nation's `unsung heroes' and described their low wages as a `national embarrassment.' ...He also urged the students `to remember that poverty is not destiny.'''
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, May 20, 2010: No easy answers for fixing bad schools
"The designation applies to schools that are high-performing (ranking above the 67th percentile in average state standardized test scores), and high-poverty (having more than 50 percent of its students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches)."
Chicago Sun Times, May 19, 2010: Chicago students learn how to eat healthier, starting in own classrooms
"That was just the beginning, said Serena Peterson, assistant principal at McAuliffe, which has more than 800 students, most of them from families whose incomes are below the poverty level. The school was the first in the city to offer a free breakfast to all its students."
Anchorage Daily News, May 19, 2010: Homeless, still going to school
"1,051 -- Number of homeless school children counted by Anchorage School District in 2005.2,238 -- Number of homeless school children counted by district as of May 18, 2010.111% -- Increase in number of homeless children over last five years."
The Washington Times, May 19, 2010: Head Start rife with enrollment fraud
"Other abuses included admitting a family who lived outside the Head Start service area, ignoring proof of employment, and admitting extraordinarily high numbers of 'homeless' children. Under new rules, homeless children are automatically eligible for Head Start."
The Boston Globe, May 18, 2010: R.I. teachers subdued after agreement
"In March, Obama cited the mass firings as an example of the tough measures needed to turn around struggling schools like Central Falls, which serves a low-income, heavily immigrant community."
The Washington Post, May 18, 2010: More third-graders struggling with reading skills
"Public school children in both states fared better than the national average of 68 percent below proficient. Minority children and those living in poverty were much less likely to be proficient readers."
Chicago Tribune, May 19, 2010: Senior housing complex tabled
"Heartland Housing Executive Director Andrew Geer said there is a need for affordable senior housing in the area. About 90 percent of the apartments would be subsidized for low-income senior citizens."
USA TODAY, May 18, 2010: Group links reading proficiency, national success
"'The bottom line is that if we don't get dramatically more children on track as proficient readers, the United States will lose a growing and essential proportion of its human capital to poverty,' the authors say."
The News & Observer, May 18, 2010: Wake school board about to end diversity policy
"Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, it was school board policy to promote diversity by balancing the percentages of minority students at schools. A decade ago, the board switched to promoting diversity by balancing the percentages of low-income students."
The Washington Post, May 17, 2010: Meaningful consequences eventually sink in
"A key lesson in the 'no excuses' type of public school, which uses firm measures to raise achievement for impoverished students, is behavior has consequences. The Knowledge Is Power Program.. does that by denying some students the traditional year-end trip to Orlando."
