A Community Learning Center Deals With Poverty

By Dr. Marciene Mattleman

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The first day of school this year, Principal Craig Hockenberry greeted the kids at the Oyler School in Lower Price Hill, Cincinnati. The last time they were together was the day when a 5th grader and his mother were stabbed to death.

A 21-million-dollar renovation has added air conditioning, lab equipment, smart boards and a new daycare and preschool center. Kids from age 6 weeks to 22 can eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner there and take home food on weekends.

The school is open from early morning until late and working with non-profits and government agencies, Oyler has installed a health center and a vision clinic.

Academically, the services are making a difference, with test scores slowly improving.

American Public Media's Marketplace describes the school's function as a community learning center, part of a growing movement maintaining that helping poor kids to succeed is best accomplished by fighting poverty.

Read more at: Marketplace.org.