Latest Coverage

"A $2 million federal grant has been awarded to the Catholic Diocese of Charlotte for the first phase of a Steele Creek apartment community - the latest in a series of affordable housing projects the diocese is developing. All the apartment communities, including sites in Mooresville and Salisbury, will cater to low-income seniors, disabled adults or both."

"A discussion among Kalamazoo County officials about the future of the local Head Start program is tapping into a years-long national debate about the "real" mission of the 47-year-old federal program, which serves 3- and 4-year-olds in households below the poverty line."

The fastest route out of poverty lies with education. With better education, kids live longer, earn more, wait longer to have a child, and are less likely to commit a crime. More importantly, these benefits pass on to their children, snapping the cruel cycle of poverty.

"We know low-income children in particular are likely to enter kindergarten one or two years behind in language and other important skills. We know almost one half of children in many Appalachian counties are living in poverty."

"The N.C. House Select Committee on Early Childhood Education Improvement isn't fooling anybody with its title. This committee isn't focused on "improving" the state's early childhood education. It's trying to dismantle it, and take away thousands of at-risk children's access to pre-kindergarten programs."

"If elderly Tennessee voters nudge Santorum to the top, they may be voting against their interests. A topic Santorum didn't discuss during his Abba's House speech is what he would do with Social Security. Unlike the rest of the GOP field, Santorum has said he would cut benefits immediately and set a higher eligibility age."

"The Jersey City Housing Authority has been granted nearly $1 million in federal funds to construct a new Head Start facility, the state's two U.S. senators announced Thursday. The city agency will use the funds to expand an existing community center at the Marion Gardens public-housing complex to accommodate Head Start, a federally funded early-education program for low-income families."

"We know poverty is a large factor in academic success. And poverty could be lessened by leaps and bounds --and time spent with a child on academics could increase --if two adults were working together with only one home's expenses and two adults' time and resources."

"Children from low-income areas arrive at kindergarten as much as two years behind their more privileged peers. In our most challenged schools, 100 percent of students are from economically disadvantaged families. Those children need schooling as 4-year-olds to get even at the starting line by 5."

"On Monday, hundreds of educators in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools' new Project LIFT Zone will start learning their place in the public-private partnership aimed at transforming nine high-poverty schools. Some will be offered retention bonuses that could top $10,000 if they'll stay for 2012-2013.Some will be told they must transfer to other schools."

"Bay County ranked 25th of more than 60 Michigan counties in the report, with 5.7 percent of its youths living in impoverished communities. Genesee County ranked fourth with 23.9 percent; and Isabella County ranked eighth with 20.3 percent of its children living in high-poverty neighborhoods. Data for Midland County reflected no children living in impoverished areas."

"Under a new school funding formula adopted in 2008 under Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine, districts received more money if they had low-income or disabled students, or students with limited English speaking abilities, for example."