Teachers deal with impoverished students

During a time of massive budget cuts, school closings, and teacher layoffs, it's easy to forget how teachers fill the holes in the lives of the poor, experts say.

Some say teachers are supplanting parents in this role as frontline activists; others believe teachers have no choice.

What many people don't understand "is the depth and breadth of poverty," said Amy-Nicole Roat, a teacher of English as a second language at the Feltonville School of Arts and Science in North Philadelphia, a middle school.

"Some teachers feel parents of poor kids don't do enough," Cucchiara said. "There's a pretty common discourse among a small portion of teachers in urban schools about these parents not caring."

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