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"Kentucky has had a pre-school program in our public schools since the 1990 passage of the Kentucky Education Reform Act. Families with incomes of up to 150 percent of the federal poverty level qualify for the program."

"The number of children living in poverty in the Marshfield School District has grown dramatically, and the district is actively expanding programs designed to keep up with the need."

"Mentors are matched with teens in the state's Twenty-first Century Scholars program, which promises college funding to low-income students who earn good grades and display responsible conduct"

"But as a low-income renter, Carter has limited options. And as a gay black man, he's concerned his choice of senior living facilities might be narrowed further by the possibility of intolerant residents or staff members."

"Tracey Korynas, PTA president at East Lake, said some parents want to help, but don't have transportation. She says a high poverty level may also hamper volunteers. More than 95 percent of students at East Lake are impoverished, according to the Tennessee Report Card. Meanwhile, at Ganns, the number of impoverished children is about 50 percent."

"The woes of public education could be addressed by a dramatic shift in redirecting dollars to social supports. Many people involved in education reform obviously have not spent a lot of time in the classrooms, hallways and cafeterias of our public schools (particularly those with higher poverty rates)."

"As discussed here two weeks ago, Port Huron teeters on the edge of the abyss. Urban planners say a city cannot remain viable, much less prosper, if its poverty rate exceeds 20%.Port Huron's poverty rate is 25%. Its median household income is two-thirds of the national average. Its jobless rate is twice the state average -- and the state average of 10.6% is abysmal."

"The alternative is if you can actually break up concentrated poverty and have kids more integrated and better mixed across settings, you can reduce the costs of getting to the same outcomes. But typically what you find in the political dynamic is that people are much more willing to pay the price of extreme segregation than to actually move forward on desegregation."

"Urban youths from troubled, broken families with poor nutrition and little if any parental support walk through school doors every day at a distinct disadvantage compared to most suburban students."

"John White, who is expected to be Louisiana's next state superintendent of education, said he decided to become an educator while working on his senior thesis in English at the University of Virginia."

"The center participates in the Better Beginnings ratings, a state-run program, and has a rating of one star out of a possible three. There are only two child-care centers with a Better Beginnings rating in Franklin County, according to the state's Child Care and Early Childhood Education Division."

"Westbury, whose mascot was once Johnny Reb, is now mostly black and Hispanic and 75 percent low-income. Many neighborhood families send children to Westside, Bellaire or Lamar rather than Westbury, which the state ranks "acceptable." Too many Westbury parents are uninvolved."