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"The result is uneven class sizes. Some high-poverty schools along Route 1 in the Mount Vernon district have average classes, in the high teens and low 20s. In well-to-do McLean, averages hover in the high 20s, and classes can climb into the mid-30s."

"Graduate students will pay more for loans taken out next July, and recent graduates will lose rebates for on-time repayment under a law Congress passed this summer to keep the federal deficit in check while protecting Pell Grants for low-income students."

"Petersen said there is a correlation between children living in poverty and their education levels. The new preschools are aimed at closing the knowledge gap between at-risk children and those who have had access to additional educational resources, she said."

"The state's largest school district has added 515 students since this time last year, but the number of students from low-income families is growing even faster."

"For example, a voucher bill that came out of the Senate earlier this year, SB1, would start with low-income students in low-performing schools, but ultimately extend vouchers to all students, even those already in private schools. That obviously would cost far more than a more limited program."

"One-third of child-care centers in low-income communities contain unsafe play equipment, half lack space for active indoor play, and a fifth suffer from poor ventilation that can make children drowsy, according to an unusual survey of the physical conditions at places where many children spend most of their waking hours."

"For decades, states were free to set their own goals, but they failed to narrow achievement gaps between students of different races and income groups and failed to deliver on the promise of educational opportunity for all, he said. 'This feels like a betrayal of low-income kids, of kids of color,' said Amy Wilkins of the Education Trust, an advocacy group."

"Since 2010, the percentage of Georgians 65 or older living in poverty has actually fallen, while the median income has risen slightly. For working-age adults, the opposite is true."

"In Washington Heights, graduates of Stuyvesant High School and the Bronx High School of Science run the Science Schools Initiative, a yearlong free tutoring program held for three hours every Saturday morning. To qualify, students must show promise on a diagnostic exam and meet the city's benchmark for poverty."

"Angela Bell with the Higher Education Policy Commission says the state has a large number of low-income and first-generation students. She tells the Charleston Gazette ( http://bit.ly/rj1TpT) that many of these students are less likely to complete their degrees and then pay off their loans."

"'The poverty question was startling,' said Joseph Morris, a professor and director of the college's Center for Applied Politics, which conducted the poll, 'as was the fact that a strong majority of Pennsylvanians have had to make lifestyle changes because of the economy.'"

"But Quisenberry said most of those poor-performing schools are in high-poverty areas, which tend to have lower-performing students, research shows. What's important, he said, is that research has shown that the longer students are in a charter school, 'the more successful they are.'"