This article is excerpted from "Giving Our Children a Fighting Chance: Poverty, Literacy, and the Development of Information Capital" by Susan B. Neuman and Donna C. Celano. Based on 21 studies conducted over 10 years in two neighborhoods, it offers a new lens on the achievement gap--and the need for both school and community solutions. The authors' research describes how the contrasting ecologies of affluence and poverty contribute to disparities in the development of information capital. To reverse the growing polarization between the so-called haves and have-nots, this article presents six policy recommendations, recognizing that they represent only a beginning to a much-needed process of serious thought, reflection, debate, and action. (Contains 2 endnotes.)