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"The Pasco Hernando Early Learning Coalition voted unanimously Thursday to pare the subsidies for after-school care, freeing up money for younger children's services.The plan will phase out the subsidies for low-income children ages 9 to 12."

"The percentage of public schools where more than three-quarters of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch - a key indicator of poverty - has increased in the past decade, and children at these schools are less likely to attend college..."

"Only 4 percent of these young men read at grade level when their names were drawn in the 2006 lottery for Urban Prep's first freshman class. More than 80 percent came from low-income homes."

"Ten Miami Valley school districts mirror a national increase of more students living in poverty than ever before as shown in an annual assessment by the U.S. Department of Education titled the 'Condition of Education.'"

"Brooks said the scores do not tell the entire story about the students, many of whom come from low-income homes"

"This is a district that has a high proportion of low-income kids, and that is not typically a population that has a high level of college awareness or aspirations. But there have been efforts at every level to deepen that college-going culture."

"New research... finds that the most disadvantaged applicants (those who... are black, attend public schools with high poverty rates, come from low-income families and have parents who are high school dropouts) score, on average, 784 points lower on the SAT..."

"On average, low-income children fall between two and three months behind in reading skills over the summer while their middle-income peers stagnate or make very slight gains, said Ron Fairchild, chief executive officer of the Baltimore-based National Summer Learning Association..."

"Medicare, which pays for the skyrocketing cost of health care for seniors, will be a much harder nut to crack. Fix Social Security first, and it will be a little bit easier."

"Sidney dropped out of school in seventh grade and spent the next few years homeless. When she returned to school at the age of 16, she was placed into the 10th grade, even though she had had no education for three years."

"The Supplemental Security Income and State Supplementary Payment program also is threatened. Carlson said it 'serves as the foundation for the ability of low-income senior citizens to survive.'"

"Another found that schools need 40 percent more funding to meet California's achievement goals for schools. Schools with large numbers of low-income children need vastly more funding than schools that serve the middle class to achieve the same results, the studies found."