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"It is not news that quality early childhood education is vital to the academic success of most children - especially those who live in poverty - but the issue is getting new attention from policymakers, corporate funders and others who recognize it as fundamental to real reform."

"'Our children in poverty continue to escalate ... in our area and in the nation,' she said. 'We have more children that are homeless than ever before.'"

"'The grant could make a big difference in Mississippi, where about 33 percent of children live in poverty, Grace said. That's a higher percentage than any other state. 'This is about children, and that's very clear in this proposal,' said Grace, director of early childhood development for Children's Defense Fund."

"One example is Head Start. Maine is one of only 11 states that contribute to the federal program for low-income preschool children. ''It is from that perspective that we propose the elimination of all state general fund support,'' she said."

"The University of California Davis will create a Center for Poverty Research, one of three in the country that will study the causes and effects of policies that deal with poverty."

"'When we look at our growth, we really look at growth within ourselves. We don't do apples and oranges comparisons, because our district is so unique. We have rural schools and we have high poverty schools,' she said, adding that the school system is still reeling from changes because of its desegregation lawsuit."

"Policies that address the consequences of these changes, which recent poverty figures show have worsened, are more likely to improve the life chances of the children from low-income families."

"Welcome to Fantasyland. Eric Welch just sent me a detailed plan for a public charter school in Fairfax County. He and several other people on the board of what they call the Fairfax Leadership Academy say they want to help low-income families with a school unlike any that local students have had before."

"Substantial educational change will never occur until we as a country decide that enough is enough and make a commitment to change, no matter what it takes. When America realizes all children deserve a stellar education regardless of who their parents are, their socioeconomic status or where they happen to live, we will be able to reform our education system."

"Additional teacher training and collaboration were common threads for many schools. Several said their teachers had not been using the latest state standards or were drifting from the curriculum. Most of the schools serve high-poverty students."

"Klimkiewicz said she was pleased gains were made across all students and not just subgroups of students like special-education or low-income students. She said the school district has had a 100 percent passage rate for students for six years, but she wanted students to not only pass the test, but achieve higher results."

"In Clackamas County, 1,542 students were identified as homeless during the last school year, according to data released this week by the Oregon Department of Education. Statewide, the homeless student population jumped by about 1,500 to 20,545 students."