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"The country's recent economic woes are still being felt in the classroom: The number of homeless American elementary and high school students has hit an all-time high, according to a new federal study released Thursday."

Commentary: David Cooper and Elise Gould, Economic Policy Institute

"Nearly two decades ago, a landmark study found that by age 3, the children of wealthier professionals have heard words millions more times than those of less educated parents, giving them a distinct advantage in school and suggesting the need for increased investment in prekindergarten programs."

"Americans have now reversed that decline by going to school in unprecedented numbers. In 2011, there were 3.2 million more people enrolled in higher education than there were in 2006. This 18 percent increase in enrollment was the largest such jump since the end of the Vietnam War."

"A majority of students in public schools throughout the American South and West are low-income for the first time in at least four decades, according to a new study that details a demographic shift with broad implications for the country."

"A 2011 study conducted by the National Foundation to End Senior Hunger found that 15.2 percent (or 8.8 million) of seniors in the U.S. face the threat of hunger every day."

"Children from the lower economic strata of society may not be hampered by poverty as much as they are by lack of paren-tal, teaching and corporate support, as well as bad decisions made by some politicians, judges and legislators. I am appalled by decisions to uproot children from their home schools and send them by bus many miles away to non-failing' schools in more advantageous environments."

"Hauppauge residents' concerns about a homeless shelter that has added 10 children to a district school are prompting a Suffolk lawmaker to push for legislation to end the county's agreement with the shelter."

"But like many American elderly, Jones is now struggling without a paycheck. Her tiny pension and Social Security income can't save her from a crushing poverty that could soon have her living on the streets."

"Imagine a high school where students show up for class only four days a week. You'd probably say that campus is plagued with serious problems. But not if it's one of Chicago-based Cristo Rey's 26 private Catholic high schools, which are finding success nationwide with an innovative school-work model. Now the organization wants to bring its innovative strategy to Dallas, opening a school here that gives low-income students a real chance to make it to college and to attain a prosperous future."

"Citizen Schools, a national nonprofit organization that partners with middle schools to expand the learning day for low-income students, announced a $250,000 grant from the Biogen Idec Foundation to help fund Citizen Schools' innovative STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) apprenticeship programs in Massachusetts and North Carolina."

Grants from the Winnick Family Foundation will enable the visits of more than 3,600 low-income students to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. The museum is announcing a total of $20,665 has been given by the foundation to 28 schools in Illinois, Missouri and Iowa. Grants from the California-based organization range from $150 to $1,101 per school."