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"Poverty rates increased for adults 55 to 64 but declined for those 65 and older, while low incomes were more prevalent in older age groups than younger ones. About one-third of workers 65 and older are in low-wage jobs - those that paid less than $10.20 per hour in 2007 or $11per hour in 2010."

"Only 4 percent of Memphis City Schools seniors are ready for college, based on scoring at least 19 on the ACT, the college entrance exam taken by district seniors. In other words, of 6,774 seniors, only 271 are college ready."

"Schools that get federal funds for low-income students must offer tutoring or student transfers to other schools if they miss the test targets for back-to-back years. They also must provide the state with plans to improve the school's academic performance."

"All charter schools are lottery by law. But we're researching right now putting in an at-risk preference to target children who are living in poverty."

"'America's Urban Crisis' represents a clear-eyed, historical look at the economic and social policies, supported by color-blind politics, that have gutted and segregated Detroit and other U.S. cities, relegating millions of their residents to generational poverty, failing schools and an insidious prison industry. "

"U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced the competitive grant program in May along with U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. The funding is intended to increase the access of low-income and disadvantaged children to quality early childhood education programs."

"The highest percentage of low-income families in the district reside near Lincoln Elementary School, where 55 percent of students receive or qualify for free and reduced-cost school meals -- about 5 percent more than last year."

"One common thread, whether I'm reporting on poverty in New York City or in Sierra Leone, is that a good education tends to be the most reliable escalator out of poverty. Another common thread: whether in America or Africa, disadvantaged kids often don't get a chance to board that escalator."

"California expenditures on such students over five years totaled $480 million, report says. Many students are ill-prepared for college, get too little support and aren't helped by remediation, the study notes."

"For the first time in at least 10 years, Elmhurst's Conrad Fischer Elementary School posted a 90 percent passing rate, though it faces challenges uncommon in some other affluent school districts. Fischer has the highest percentage of low-income students among District 205 schools."

"Georgia officials are hoping for a $70 million federal cash prize aimed at improving school readiness for the state's 825,000 youngest children, especially the 54 percent identified as low income."

"That didn't last long. About 55 million Social Security recipients will get their first increase in benefits next year since 2009 -- a 3.6 percent raise. But higher Medicare premiums could erase part of it."