The document discusses the effects of poverty on childhood language and literacy development. It notes that language is key to literacy learning and that exposure to words helps develop knowledge. Poverty can negatively impact early language skills and language stimulation children receive. Research shows a gap in the number of words, variety of words, and time spent with reading that children from low-income homes hear compared to children from higher-income homes. This language gap can be detected as early as 18 months of age. Strategies used in high-performing, high-poverty schools include effective leadership, engaging parents and the community, having high expectations, focusing on reading, aligning the curriculum, using data, building instructional capacity, and optimizing time