There are few things education researchers say they know with certainty. But virtually nobody disputes that socioeconomic status and the educational level of parents, especially mothers, are linked to the stubborn achievement gap between students of different races and ethnicities.

There is an obvious disconnection between educational achievement and economic opportunity within the Ouachita County community. I chose to focus on our ‘at-risk’ youth, ages 16-24 for the ACTION Community project.

More than Words employs Boston’s disengaged youths between the ages of 16 and 21, offering them a base minimum wage salary with the opportunity to improve their position in a six to twelve month period.

The well-being of American children looks to be a mixed bag, with gains in academic achievement and health offset by growing economic distress, a new study finds. The percentage of children living in poverty in the U.S. is on the rise.

The real problem today isn’t that things are stressful for the most affluent and credentialed 20% or 10% or 1%; it’s that for the rest of the country social mobility has all but disappeared. Meritocracy may be a grind, but for those outside the upper-middle class, it’s simply ground to a halt.

At the heart of the American Dream is equal opportunity for children — wherever they are born and in whatever condition — to rise above their situation. The factors affecting that opportunity are varied and complex. Opportunity Nation identified three major categories of these factors: economics, education and community.

Proving that bipartisanship is still alive and well, Opportunity Nation announced today that former Director of the Obama Administration’s Domestic Policy Council, Melody Barnes will join John Bridgeland, former Director of Domestic Policy for President George W. Bush as members of the Opportunity Nation Leadership Council.

Important ideological differences divide Republicans and Democrats on many issues, but there is one tenet of American life that should prompt bipartisan action: ensuring that all people — regardless of class, race, ethnicity, gender or ZIP code — have opportunities to rise as far as talent and hard work can take them.

Plain and simple, we're not graduating enough young people from high school and college in the United States. Barely two-thirds of today's high school students will graduate on time. With the average high school dropout's annual earnings being only about 40 percent of those of a college graduate, this failure has profound consequences for the rest of one's entire life.

With the number of unemployed youth nearly double the rate of national unemployment, Opportunity Nation - in partnership with the global specialty retailer Gap Inc. - launched an interactive and easy-to-use online tool that walks businesses through the process of how to create new employment and learning opportunities for youth.