California

"While politically unpopular, increasing tuition at the University of California is necessary to maintain the system's economic and racial diversity, according to former UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau."

"The debate and discussion about the recently approved tuition increases has been marked by misinformation. So, let's start off by dispensing two myths. The first myth is that tuition increases will hurt students from lower-income families. In fact, low-income families will have better access to UC Berkeley with the tuition increase than they would without it."

"Financial aid and scholarships have largely spared students from low and some middle-income families from shouldering the cost of recent tuition increases at the University of California and California State University, an independent think tank reported Wednesday. The Public Policy Institute of California said in a new report that even though in-state tuition increased an average of 64 percent at UC campuses during the height of the recession, most families with annual incomes under $110,000 did not end up paying more thanks to a greater availability of federal and state grants and aid supplied by the colleges themselves."

"In San Francisco's public schools, the homeless student population nearly tripled during the past 10 years: 844 in the 2004-05 school year compared to last school year's 2,352, according to data from the San Francisco Unified School District. For the past five school years, more than 2,000 students were registered as homeless, including this year's count of 2,094."

"A report released last week by the Public Policy Institute of California, a nonpartisan think tank, found that grants and scholarships have failed to keep up with rising costs of higher education. The total cost of attending college increased as prices for books, fees, room, board and other living expenses rose. The study found that aid to students has not kept pace with these additional costs and that more low-income students may be unable to cover the price of higher education."

"For seven years, the Long Beach Community Action Partnership has provided opportunities for low-income youths to receive training in fields such as digital photography and music production. Through the partnership's Leadership Academy & Mentoring Program (LAMP), middle and high school students study subjects in highly specialized fields in courses taught by industry professionals. Each semester, up to 50 students are accepted into the after-school program, and many of them have gone on to enter careers in arts and entertainment, according to Darick Simpson, the partnership's executive director."