For decades, schools nationwide have collected household income data to identify those eligible for free and reduced-price lunch programs. State leaders have long used this information as a proxy for student economic disadvantage--yet this data is insufficient to understand and address students' needs. Measures based on FRL data lack critical…

The early experiences of babies and young children have a profound, lasting impact on the rest of their lives. Too many low-income children today are entering kindergarten so far behind that they can never catch up. High-quality childcare, which helps the country's youngest, most disadvantaged children get a good start while enabling their parents…

This hearing serves as a first in a set of hearings focusing on early learning. In his opening statement, Senator Tom Harkin, Chairman of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, strongly encouraged members of this committee on both sides of the aisle to hold roundtables and have discussions on early learning in their local…

The U.S. Department of Education's Promise Neighborhood Initiative (DCPNI) is one of the Obama administration's major antipoverty initiatives and a core strategy of the White House's Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative. It is intended to improve educational outcomes by creating a continuum of school readiness, academic services, and family and…

These "Stories From the Field" describe five Wallace-funded programs working to expand learning and enrichment for disadvantaged children, so they can benefit from the types of opportunities their wealthier counterparts have access to, from homework help to swimming classes. The report details each program's approach, successes and…

The District of Columbia Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) is a school voucher initiative targeted to disadvantaged students in the US Capital. Vouchers worth up to $7,500 annually are awarded by lottery to students with family incomes near or below the federal poverty line. Students can then use their voucher at any of 60 participating…

SUGGESTIONS FOR STRATEGIES TO WIN THE WAR ON POVERTY ARE BASED ON AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT POVERTY IS, HOW IT IS TO BE FOUGHT, AND THE MEANING OF LOSING THE WAR. THERE HAVE BEEN MANY DEFINITIONS OF POVERTY, FOR INDIVIDUALS DIFFER IN THEIR VALUES AND THEIR IDEAS OF NEED. SUBJECTIVE ESTIMATES OF NEED DEPEND ON WHETHER THE ESTIMATOR IS RICH OR POOR,…

This report describes the DC Children and Youth Investment Partnership, which helps improve outcomes for DC youth by building a sustainable partnership to increase the quality and quantity of youth services. Data from interviews with key actors, attendance at Partnership meetings, and site visits with affiliated initiatives show progress in…

On Saturdays, neighbors in the Mount Pleasant area of the District of Columbia come together to participate in the family involvement component of The Books Project, a teacher education program that trains teachers to implement writing workshops in language diverse classrooms. The Family Involvement Project expands The Books Project to include…

The passage from adolescence to adulthood of a group of young Latino immigrants, all of whom attended a Washington (District of Columbia) high school called the Multicultural Career Intern Program (MCIP) in the 1980s, is traced. Background and circumstances suggested that these youths were at-risk, but most made good use of their MCIP-related…