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"A state education commission is set to release recommendations on how to close the achievement gap between low-income Connecticut students and their peers."

"Among the BHCC night students is 29-year-old Eric Reddin, taking his first college class. Reddin, who served in the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan, lives in a Boston shelter for homeless veterans."

"The poverty rate for seniors fell last year, from 9.7 percent to 8.9 percent. In 2009, incomes rose for households headed by people 65 and older, while every other age group lost ground, according to Census Bureau figures reported recently in USA Today."

"Four new board members elected last fall joined with Margiotta in ending the policy of trying to balance the percentage of low-income students at schools."

"The Green Bay School District student population is about 42 percent minority, while minorities make up less than 15 percent of most suburban enrollment numbers. Green Bay also enrolls the most students living in poverty."

"Not surprisingly, this justification is heavily promoted by conservative think tanks and philanthropies. Yet what's overlooked is the larger issue of equity, in the form of the direct connection between poverty and performance."

"Social Security benefits make up half or more of the income for 52 percent of Floridians age 65 and older, according to an AARP compilation of census data for December 2009. In 2008, Social Security benefits pulled 35.5 percent of Florida's senior citizens above the poverty line."

"Kojo Nantambu, president of the local branch of the [NAACP], was charged with disorderly conduct Tuesday at a forum that drew an estimated 600 people, many of them angry about plans to close westside schools serving minority and low-income children."

"Low-income students in Montgomery County performed better when they attended affluent elementary schools instead of ones with higher concentrations of poverty, according to a new study that suggests economic integration is a powerful but neglected school-reform tool."

"Construction is expected to start this spring on an assisted-living housing center for low-income senior citizens, courtesy of an $8.4 million federal grant."

"Yet South Dakota has one of the fairest formulas for delivering money, the report said. Only four states do a better job of sending extra money to high-poverty areas."

"'What jumped out at me was the importance of teachers,' Burnam said. 'At our school 70 percent of our staff is Teach for America. But with a lot of work and coaching and support, we've been able to create a setting where teachers are motivated to get better."