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"Morgan represents the south suburbs, where school poverty levels tend to be low and PTAs often raise tens of thousands of dollars. CMS's 'weighted student staffing' formula pays for extra teachers based on student poverty, so low-poverty schools end up with fewer teachers..."

"But she has never been particularly passionate about private schools despite her zeal to increase the choices available to low-income parents. So, when she accepted a seat on the board of the Children's Scholarship Fund last week, I wondered if it signaled a new direction."

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"Research has shown time and again that the single most powerful predictor of student performance is poverty. And it is increasing. The Census Bureau reported in September that the share of residents in poverty climbed to 14.3 percent in 2009, the highest level since 1994."

"The state fund that provides grants for low-income students to go to North Carolina colleges and universities is running low. The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Sunday that the fund gave students more than $210 million this year."

"Black, Hispanic and low-income students in Charlotte-Mecklenburg were more successful on high-school exams but less likely to graduate. The report cards package information that has already been reported in different formats and confirm trends that have been emerging..."

"One of the best parts of high school for sophomore Raymond Wayne is developing leadership skills and learning military routines through Battery Creek High School's Marine Corps Junior ROTC program."

"The temptation to equate childlike misbehavior with criminality and to haul out the locks and chains when a more child-appropriate punishment would suffice has become too great for some adults to resist."

"Raising the retirement age for Social Security would disproportionately hurt low-income workers and minorities, and increase disability claims by older people unable to work, government auditors told Congress."

"While 50 percent of white students and 55 percent of Asian students scored proficient or higher in reading, only 21 percent of African- American and Hispanic students did so. Twenty- three percent of low- income students of all races had proficient scores."

"His new area of interest: helping solve schools' money problems. In a speech on Friday, Mr. Gates who is gaining considerable clout in education circles plans to urge the 50 state superintendents of education to take difficult steps to restructure the nation's public education budgets, which have come under severe pressure in the economic downturn."

"Reading scores for the nation's 12th-grade students have increased somewhat since they dropped to a historic low in 2005, according to results of the largest federal test, released Thursday. Average math scores also ticked upward."