California

"Residents will receive mental and health services from the San Fernando Valley Community Health Center and Northeast Valley Health Corp. A case manager will be on-site to help residents find activities through partnerships with area public and nonprofit agencies and faith communities. The five-story LEED Silver certified apartment already houses seniors age 55 and older who are considered very low income. Thirty of the units are reserved for seniors who are homeless and mentally ill at the time they enter housing."

"Of the 410 students on Para Los Ninos' elementary campus, 99% are Latino and 96% hail from low-income families. More than two-thirds of the students are not fluent in English. But the school is proving that demographics are not destiny. Its test scores are on par with many suburban public schools. And its curriculum relies on the sort of child-centered approach favored by progressive private schools with five-figure tuition."

"She and dozens of other Sylmar students, graduates and volunteers packed a classroom for the event hosted by College Summit, a national nonprofit dedicated to increasing the number of low-income students who go to college."

"The grants must be used for research-proven counseling methods, she said, that focus on mental and social health for specific students. She said she hopes to see the funding and new counselors increase attendance and discipline in her schools. The Eureka City Schools funding proposal sent to the Department of Education said that its district suffers from severe poverty, and the district's free/reduced lunch rate is about 80 percent."

"Marc Spencer has a vision: to have low-income youth graduate from college. After becoming CEO of Juma Ventures, Spencer changed the organization's mission from helping low-income youth get into college to ensuring they complete a four-year higher education degree."

"Yet changes to the core mission of California's community colleges threaten that role. State efforts to ease overcrowding and help colleges adapt to budget cuts are backfiring in rural districts already burdened by vast territories, withered economies, high poverty rates and dwindling populations. Rather than serving lifelong learners,' the state's 112 colleges have been directed to focus on students seeking to acquire such basic skills as English, transfer to four-year schools or earn associate degrees or certificates."