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"Strategic staffing, the centerpiece of Gorman's plan to improve high-poverty schools, started with putting in strong, veteran principals. He gave them a chance to get rid of ineffective staff, let them recruit a team of proven teachers and offered $20,000 in bonuses if those teachers stayed three years."

"SunTrust bank representatives will talk to parents about saving money and officials with local initiative Read 20 will promote the importance of reading. But this isn't just a book drive, Pickett said. The goal is to push children out of poverty by making sure they have all they need for a good education, she said."

"Some groups continued to lag their peers in graduating. But State Schools Superintendent June Atkinson pointed out that black students and low-income students have seen sharp gains in the graduation rates during the past five years."

"If only state lawmakers were as concerned about the welfare of financially strapped Texans. They've hijacked millions of dollars from what is supposed to be a dedicated fund that was established to help pay summer electric bills for qualified low-income residents."

"The district has a $14 million 'rainy day' fund, but school officials said they need it to help get homeless and special-needs children to school, and to pay for building and computer maintenance. Many area school districts have made cuts or added fees because of the cap on property-tax revenues and cuts in state government funding."

"The district still has challenges. With 33,000 students, CPS is the largest district in the region and the third-largest in the state. Nearly 70 percent of students qualify for free or reduced lunch -an indication of poverty. Roughly that same number are minorities."

"Watts knows he has many challenges ahead. About 75 percent of students at the school are at or below the poverty level, and the average percentage of proficient and distinguished students in reading and math last year was 39.45 percent. The state average was about 67 percent."

"That's particularly true for those pursuing advanced degrees, with subsidies to graduate and professional students ending. The upside: The savings will be used to help preserve Pell grants, which help low-income students."

"Your donation stays in your community -- Contra Costa County donations are distributed to children in need by the Volunteer Center of the East Bay, or VESTIA, based in Pleasant Hill; Alameda County donations go to Tools 4 School, an umbrella project of service agencies that work with low-income and at-risk families in that county."

"Along with the students in the gifted program, the school has a high percentage of children who qualify for free or reduced-price lunches. Knox is a Title I school, meaning it receives federal funding based on the poverty level of families and students who live in its attendance area."

"The changes will generate an estimated $22 billion in savings. Of that amount, $17 billion will be used to preserve the federal Pell grant program, which provides grants of up to $5,550 a year to low-income college students."

"When families go back- to-school shopping in the next couple of weeks, the Homeless Children's Trust is asking they pick up some extra supplies for area children in need.The Homeless Children's Trust has been coordinating a back-to-school collection for homeless children in the county for "many, many years," event coordinator Mary Larew said Monday."