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"Deborah W. Reed, education specialist and homeless education liaison for the school system, said the number of children living in hotels grows steadily during each school year as family circumstances change and the county gathers information. Reed said she expects that by the end of the school year, the number will be close to the 2011-12 total of 173. The year before that, it was 182."

"Take Stock in Children began in Florida in 1995, and the program has been in Manatee County for almost that long. The program provides mentors to low-income and at-risk students, who sign contracts saying they will keep their grades up and stay drug-free to keep tuition scholarships. Many participants are the first in their families to attend college or high school."

"Area students who have a disability or come from low income households have a greater chance of not getting a diploma in four years. The state Department of Education breaks up on-time graduation numbers by subgroups including male, female, white, black, Asian, multi-racial, students with disabilities, economically disadvantaged, homeless and limited English speaking."

"The Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge is bringing interest and attention to West Dallas. Investors and developers have been buying land, betting on opportunity and beginning to change the look of an aging industrial area only minutes from downtown. For those who live there, the challenges continue - education, persistent poverty and limited opportunities. Many parents work low-wage jobs. As happens elsewhere, they often don't participate in their children's education. Of the students who graduate from the only high school in West Dallas, Pinkston, few are prepared for college."

"With a baby boomer turning 55 every eight seconds for the next 17 years, the senior housing market is already strong, with new projects opening throughout the Sacramento region. But low incomes, a devastating recession and high costs of care present challenges both for seniors and developers. Affordable and high-end projects alike face obstacles."

"An advisory committee, racing to meet a November deadline to recommend a new student-assignment system for Boston, is weighing whether to give low-income students a priority to attend better-performing schools in other neighborhoods, a potentially divisive move that could address inequities but also take away seats from more affluent applicants who live nearby."

"Gourmet soups were served to the public Thursday at the annual Celebrity Soup Kitchen as part of a fundraiser to help low-income older adults pay their utility bills."

"Poverty has a way of taking things away from you,' a superintendent from a desperately poor South Texas school district said Wednesday, during Day 3 of the state's school funding trial. Early testimony has highlighted challenges facing school districts trying to meet tougher academic standards with insufficient funding, they say."

"The Tribune compared Cleveland schools with high-poverty student populations, because all of the city's traditional schools and most charter schools serve large numbers of disadvantaged students. Sixty-four percent of traditional schools serving high-poverty populations got D and F academic ratings, compared with 32 percent for charter schools. Statewide, however, Ohio's high-poverty charters trailed, by a slight margin, the state's traditional public schools."

"A rapidly growing Hispanic enrollment will require the state and school districts to spend more money because so many of the students come from poor families, a population expert testified Tuesday."

"The Lafayette Parish School System should look for ways to diversify the student population on its campuses if it wants to improve achievement in its high-poverty schools, Lafayette City-Parish Council member Kenneth Boudreaux said during a Monday evening forum focused on the impact of poverty on schools."

"In Fremont, an estimated 33.8 percent of the black population was living below poverty level from 2006 to 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Nearly the same number of Hispanics -- 32.5 percent -- in Fremont also were living below poverty level. Some students come from single-parent families where their lone parent works and relies on them to help around the house, care for younger siblings or get a job to pitch in, Jackson said. Students who have jobs that require a lot of hours sometimes have difficulty fitting in study time and homework, she said."