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"But now the legislature has eviscerated state-funded pre-kindergarten, offering nothing to replace it. Meanwhile, as more families are pushed into grinding poverty, the number of at-risk students with no money to pay for pre-kindergarten is growing, and the constitution still requires state-funded school preparation for at-risk kids."

"Space is limited at the Uptown school, which since 1975 has offered free after-school music education to children from low-income families. Last summer some parents camped outside for four days to register their children in the first-come first-served program."

"Reville said the hope is that more quality time in school also will help bridge the achievement gap between students from low-income families and those from more affluent ones. In 2006, the state provided $6.5 million to 10 schools... to add 300 hours to their academic calendar in an effort to improve student achievement."

"Middletown schools have made gains in a decades-old struggle that has confounded schools across the country closing the achievement gap. Nationwide the 21-point scoring gap between Hispanic and white students hasn't changed significantly in 20 years, though scores for both groups on the national assessment rose, according to the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress report."

"'In all honesty, I do think the kids are excited to be back here,' said Tom Lucia, public relations director for the school. 'Lower-income families have a harder time filling their summers with enriching activities for their kids.'"

"The foundation also supports providing government funding to allow low-income students to attend private schools; such publicly funded vouchers are not legal in California. 'We are most concerned about low-income areas where the education system is not working,' Blew said. 'The goal is explicitly to create competition to incentivize all public schools to improve.'"

"[Ford's] organization, D.C. Parents for School Choice, was started in 1998 as an information clearinghouse on charter schools and afterschool programs. It became a primary proponent of a taxpayer-funded school-voucher bill in Congress that beginning in 2004 enabled low-income parents to choose private schools."

"Relaxing expectations and standards now would be especially harmful in the state's low-income urban schools, where the pressure of the test often stands in for parents who lack the time or savvy to fight for better schools."

"They are also a bridge for many students to a four-year institution. Of all postsecondary sectors, community colleges enroll by far the highest proportion of low-income youth and the highest proportion of minority groups, who have the most difficult time finding jobs. "

"Sure, poverty is one reason why an alarming number of Muscogee County schools failed to make adequate yearly progress in last month's preliminary report. But it's not a good enough reason."

"The achievement gap, or academic disparity among minority students, students from families in poverty and all other students, has been an issue on the district's radar for years, but in the 2010- 11 school year district administrators organized two community forums to get everyone talking about the issue."

"Computer proficiency is becoming more and more critical for student success. Children lacking access to a computer after school are at a distinct disadvantage, especially the growing number of homeless students."