"THE PRICE OF PRIVILEGE"
The average price of a home in Newton is $865,300, nearly five times the national average of $182,500.
“I can speak from personal experience [and say] that … it’s very difficult as a single income individual teaching in Newton to, for example, buy a home anywhere within a 45-minute commute of this area,” Spanish teacher Stephanie Pavao said. “If that’s something that’s affecting a teacher here, then I can imagine that it also affects the students here.”
Though often ignorned in Newton, different economic backgrounds can significantly affect students’ social lives, academics, extracurriculars and future plans, according to several members of the South community. Nevertheless, it is hard to shake the stereotype that all South students are wealthy.
“I think a lot of people in Newton take for granted the amount of money they have, and don’t realize the privilege associated with that,” senior Melanie* said. “I didn’t move into Newton until kindergarten, and my family’s not the richest. I come from a single parent household, and so that’s a single family income. You realize more the privilege other people have when you don’t have those things.”
History teacher Rebecca Ledig, who teaches senior elective Race, Class and Gender (RCG), said that while economic privilege exists everywhere, the preconceived notions about the South community exacerbate the issue.
“One of the things that I think can be a problem is when we categorize South as ‘We all have similar experiences,”’ she said. “Certainly there are things that are similar, but we need to be aware of the fact that there are many people at South who have economic privilege, and there are many people who don’t.”
SOCIAL EFFECTS
Senior Alexis’* family moved to the United States from Russia and lived on welfare for a short time before moving to Newton.
“I remember in elementary school … everyone would be talking about having these big birthday parties, or having lots of gifts. I never really had that. … There was no extravagance in my life when I was growing up,” she said. “I definitely felt like I didn’t belong, that I wasn’t living my life correctly.”
According to junior Giulia Almeida, situations like these arise in high school, too.
“Let’s say you’re friends with somebody who has more money in their family, and you come from a lower class,” she said. “You might feel a little bit different because you might not have as many clothes or have the same technology that they do, [or] the same opportunities that they do.”
The ability to keep up with social trends is a large part of economic privilege, sophomore Chloe Jonas said. “You can kind of afford more and seem more mainstream, which makes it easier ... for people to assimilate with you.”
One example of this, senior Alex Frankel said, is owning a car. “Some people can’t even afford to have their own car, so they have to either take public transportation or get a ride from someone. That may affect social standings because of the ability to really go anywhere,” he said.
While cars should not buy friends, RCG teacher Robert Parlin said, they can determine a students’ friend group. “If you have access to a car, that changes your ability to go out for lunch, for example. And so I do think certain economic privileges lead you to one direction. It could be that you all can afford to go a concert, and the students who can’t aren’t a part of that social group,” he said.
“Many of the families who live in Waban are going to be richer. So, you make those friends in elementary school, and you stay with those friends in middle school and high school,” Melanie said. “[You] make friends with people that are near you because you can hang out with them, and your parents make friends, and you’re in the same social class.”
This social isolation hinders development, Ledig said. “Students learn from each other, so when students are ... put in a situation where they are only around people like themselves, it is hard to learn,” she said. “What helps students to learn is being exposed to people who ... have different stories, different challenges.”
SPORTS AND CLUBS
In middle school, Melanie wanted to join ski club, but could not due to the expenses.
Many other students cited the costs of South’s extracurricular activities, among other factors, as challenges for the less well-off.
“I have friends who haven’t done activities because of the price of a club, or maybe something the school offers, is too expensive,” Almeida said.
There are ways to waive fees, Parlin said, but it is not always an option students take. “Some students might not want to go through that process. So therefore, they might not want to join a sports team.”
Senior Natalie* agreed with Parlin. “Some kids might be embarrassed to say that they don’t have the money. … If people know that their parents can’t afford it, then they’re probably more reluctant to put that stress on their parents,” she said. “I played basketball freshman year, and I did do the [fee] waiver, but I wasn’t as embarrassed about it because I just felt like it’s something I’m used to.”
While confidence may be hard to come by, Parlin said he hopes students are “able and confident enough to come forward and point it out.”
“An ally who knew of the situation could point these things out, and the person wouldn’t be embarrassed,” he said.
According to freshman Shaw Miller, economic privilege can take more subtle forms. “I’m in cross country, and there has been at least five or six times throughout the year where [the captains have] said, ‘Bring in five dollars for senior night, coaches gifts [or] apparel,’” Miller said. “If you don’t have that, then it feels really hard to be a part of the team.”
But financial aid is not always sufficient, according to Melanie. who used to be a member of South’s debate team. “Debate is pretty expensive to pay for tournaments and to pay for travel, and I got a lot of help from the school system for that,” she said. “Sometimes it’s only half of the price for something ... which is still a lot to pay for my family, to go to one debate tournament. So I don’t always think that financial aid is enough.”
Junior Nikolas Lazar said the club Future Business Leaders of America raises money to help members pay for trips. “I think having a priority fund towards those who wouldn’t be able to otherwise afford your club or activity is very important,” he said
The members of an extracurricular often reflect its cost, Melanie said. “A lot of the people who do debate were financially well-off, it seemed. I think that if you look at certain clubs, you’ll see that the people in those clubs are more economically privileged. … I think the more expensive something is to you, the more you’ll see that it’s richer people in those things.”
ACADEMIC PRESSURES
According to Parlin, economic privilege influences academics nearly from birth. “Whether or not you had parents who read to you, whether or not you had access to books at home or educational materials, … that can have a huge impact”, he said. “Then you come into the school system either ahead or behind based on that.”
Financial advantages can carry through high school studies. “If you can’t afford a tutor and you’re falling behind, then that’s a problem,” Miller said.
“A lot of people take supplementary math classes and science classes … like Russian School of Mathematics,” Frankel added.
Parlin said that not having access to technology can add the problem. Even though South has resources like computers and printers available, several students said that these are not solutions.
“One of my friends cannot afford a laptop. He has one home computer, and he often has to run to the library, either at South or the Newton Public Library,” Alexis said. “It definitely affects how much time he takes to do assignments and the quality of his work.”
Almeida, for one, said that she has had personal experience with this obstacle. “I haven’t had Internet access before, and it was kind of difficult if teachers didn’t understand as much, because you don’t always have computer access at school,” she said. “Big projects are hard to do. I don’t think teachers are very aware of that.”
However, Alexis said that most of her teachers at South have handed out surveys at the beginning of the year that ask questions about Internet access at home.
The costs of school trips can also prevent students from enhancing their learning outside the classroom.
“They do have financial aid, but some people are so below [the poverty line that] they don’t have enough income at home [to pay for the trip] … even with the maximum financial aid you can get,” Almeida said. “I feel like the school could definitely support students more, give them better opportunities. Especially if you have less money at home.”
Parlin acknowledged that these costs can be prohibitive and added that South is working to make experiences like international trips more affordable.
The Global Education Leadership Fund, for instance, was introduced in the Newton Public Schools in 2008 and can cover up to 70 percent of a student’s expenses on school trips.
But many students said that the most devastating effects of economic hardship are psychological.
“When you have a hard home situation, you kind of feel disempowered, and you feel a bit beaten down,” Jonas said. “When that happens, you wouldn’t be focusing on something like trying to be educated outside of school because you wouldn’t have that luxury.”
Yet Alexis said that her economic background has had a positive impact on her academic performance.
“Growing up without all that money, my parents always placed an emphasis on education — that an education is what’s going to get you money, and an education is going to get you further in life,” she said. “I can imagine for people who are a bit wealthier, that motivation doesn’t exist, or maybe not to the same magnitude.”
COLLEGE PROCESS
Economic privilege also plays a role in the college process, admissions and otherwise.
Preparation for tests like the SAT has a price tag, according to Almeida. “SAT classes can be really expensive. I have friends who have a lot more money, and they can take all these really good classes and do amazing on SATs,” she said.
Melanie agreed. “My only prep [for the SATs] was a test book,” she said. “It’s worked out fine for me, but I know plenty of people whose parents have gotten tutors for them. ... If you can’t afford the price for that … you’re not going to get the advantage to get ahead.”
For Natalie, the expenses of the test itself prevented her from taking it again.
“I really want to to take it for December, but I don’t have $50 to give. I already took it two times, so it’s definitely a hardship,” she said.
“I don’t have a person that’s going to read my essay, and help me get it to be as good as the other kids’,” she added.
Ledig also said some of her students have paid tutors to edit their essays. “I’m glad that they do … but that’s an advantage,” she said. “I think that’s [something] we try to minimize at South. I know sometimes in English class, teachers work on the college essay with kids. That would be a way of making sure … all kids are getting help.”
Economic circumstances can also determine where students apply, according to Lazar. “I’ve heard from friends of mine who have gone through the experience of applying for college that having to pay the application fees [and] having to pay to travel to tour schools … definitely confines them on where they are applying and how they are applying.”
“Unless you get a fee waiver, [money] might limit the amount of colleges you can apply to. … I really want to go to Boston University, … so I wanted to apply Early Decision,” Melanie said. “The issue is that if you apply Early Decision, it’s binding. If you can’t pay that fee, it’s really hard to back out. [This] is yet another barrier in the process, because you might not be able to apply early, and applying early might help your chances of getting in.”
Though most colleges have processes to award fee waivers for applications, this does not always help, according to Alexis.
“The financial aid process itself is … really vigorous, difficult [and] tedious. Almost to the point where it’s discouraging,” she said.
The costs of the application process are often only the beginning of the problem.
“A lot of students nowadays are forced to take on loads of student debt because they can’t afford their college tuition,” Frankel said. “They even need to come up with the money themselves somehow, or get support from a family member or other places.”
“Colleges cost over $60,000. So, immediately some students who aren’t really aware of how much financial aid there is out there are ... thinking, ‘Oh, I can’t go to a private college. I have to go to a public college, [and] it probably has to be here in Massachusetts,’” Parlin said. “[That] isn’t always true.”
College and Career Counselor Kathleen Sabet said she works to educate students about all their options when choosing a college. Important to this lesson, she said, is the message that college is open to everyone.
“College in its beginning … was only for people who had money and … privilege — [people] whose families had reputations in the community. It was out of touch for a lot of people who didn’t have those resources,” she said. “It’s gotten a lot better from those days because now we have public colleges and … community colleges, which are much more affordable than private universities and colleges. That’s simply to allow everyone from across all socioeconomic areas to access a better life.”
Not everyone may understand the effects of economic privilege in the college process, according to Parlin.
“If you come from an affluent family, you’re not even thinking, ‘Which college can I apply to because of cost?’ You’re just thinking, ‘I can apply anywhere.’ I wish more people were aware of how fortunate they are,” he said. “People who are from low-income families, their decision is just, ‘Which can I afford?’ That’s a much more limiting thing.”
“Just knowing that your opportunities are limited because of your economic background can be somewhat discouraging,” Melanie added. “Sometimes it creates the mentality that you’re not as good as someone else, or that you’re not going to be able to achieve as much.”
At the least, Alexis said all students should try to be aware of the diversity of economic status. “I don’t think there should be people who are oblivious to this situation. At the very least, we should make sure everyone knows what kind of situation they’re in, what kind of situation others are in and to really treat others with respect,” she said. “[Wealth should not] be a determining factor in anything.”
*Names changed to protect students’ identities
“I can speak from personal experience [and say] that … it’s very difficult as a single income individual teaching in Newton to, for example, buy a home anywhere within a 45-minute commute of this area,” Spanish teacher Stephanie Pavao said. “If that’s something that’s affecting a teacher here, then I can imagine that it also affects the students here.”
Though often ignorned in Newton, different economic backgrounds can significantly affect students’ social lives, academics, extracurriculars and future plans, according to several members of the South community. Nevertheless, it is hard to shake the stereotype that all South students are wealthy.
“I think a lot of people in Newton take for granted the amount of money they have, and don’t realize the privilege associated with that,” senior Melanie* said. “I didn’t move into Newton until kindergarten, and my family’s not the richest. I come from a single parent household, and so that’s a single family income. You realize more the privilege other people have when you don’t have those things.”
History teacher Rebecca Ledig, who teaches senior elective Race, Class and Gender (RCG), said that while economic privilege exists everywhere, the preconceived notions about the South community exacerbate the issue.
“One of the things that I think can be a problem is when we categorize South as ‘We all have similar experiences,”’ she said. “Certainly there are things that are similar, but we need to be aware of the fact that there are many people at South who have economic privilege, and there are many people who don’t.”
SOCIAL EFFECTS
Senior Alexis’* family moved to the United States from Russia and lived on welfare for a short time before moving to Newton.
“I remember in elementary school … everyone would be talking about having these big birthday parties, or having lots of gifts. I never really had that. … There was no extravagance in my life when I was growing up,” she said. “I definitely felt like I didn’t belong, that I wasn’t living my life correctly.”
According to junior Giulia Almeida, situations like these arise in high school, too.
“Let’s say you’re friends with somebody who has more money in their family, and you come from a lower class,” she said. “You might feel a little bit different because you might not have as many clothes or have the same technology that they do, [or] the same opportunities that they do.”
The ability to keep up with social trends is a large part of economic privilege, sophomore Chloe Jonas said. “You can kind of afford more and seem more mainstream, which makes it easier ... for people to assimilate with you.”
One example of this, senior Alex Frankel said, is owning a car. “Some people can’t even afford to have their own car, so they have to either take public transportation or get a ride from someone. That may affect social standings because of the ability to really go anywhere,” he said.
While cars should not buy friends, RCG teacher Robert Parlin said, they can determine a students’ friend group. “If you have access to a car, that changes your ability to go out for lunch, for example. And so I do think certain economic privileges lead you to one direction. It could be that you all can afford to go a concert, and the students who can’t aren’t a part of that social group,” he said.
“Many of the families who live in Waban are going to be richer. So, you make those friends in elementary school, and you stay with those friends in middle school and high school,” Melanie said. “[You] make friends with people that are near you because you can hang out with them, and your parents make friends, and you’re in the same social class.”
This social isolation hinders development, Ledig said. “Students learn from each other, so when students are ... put in a situation where they are only around people like themselves, it is hard to learn,” she said. “What helps students to learn is being exposed to people who ... have different stories, different challenges.”
SPORTS AND CLUBS
In middle school, Melanie wanted to join ski club, but could not due to the expenses.
Many other students cited the costs of South’s extracurricular activities, among other factors, as challenges for the less well-off.
“I have friends who haven’t done activities because of the price of a club, or maybe something the school offers, is too expensive,” Almeida said.
There are ways to waive fees, Parlin said, but it is not always an option students take. “Some students might not want to go through that process. So therefore, they might not want to join a sports team.”
Senior Natalie* agreed with Parlin. “Some kids might be embarrassed to say that they don’t have the money. … If people know that their parents can’t afford it, then they’re probably more reluctant to put that stress on their parents,” she said. “I played basketball freshman year, and I did do the [fee] waiver, but I wasn’t as embarrassed about it because I just felt like it’s something I’m used to.”
While confidence may be hard to come by, Parlin said he hopes students are “able and confident enough to come forward and point it out.”
“An ally who knew of the situation could point these things out, and the person wouldn’t be embarrassed,” he said.
According to freshman Shaw Miller, economic privilege can take more subtle forms. “I’m in cross country, and there has been at least five or six times throughout the year where [the captains have] said, ‘Bring in five dollars for senior night, coaches gifts [or] apparel,’” Miller said. “If you don’t have that, then it feels really hard to be a part of the team.”
But financial aid is not always sufficient, according to Melanie. who used to be a member of South’s debate team. “Debate is pretty expensive to pay for tournaments and to pay for travel, and I got a lot of help from the school system for that,” she said. “Sometimes it’s only half of the price for something ... which is still a lot to pay for my family, to go to one debate tournament. So I don’t always think that financial aid is enough.”
Junior Nikolas Lazar said the club Future Business Leaders of America raises money to help members pay for trips. “I think having a priority fund towards those who wouldn’t be able to otherwise afford your club or activity is very important,” he said
The members of an extracurricular often reflect its cost, Melanie said. “A lot of the people who do debate were financially well-off, it seemed. I think that if you look at certain clubs, you’ll see that the people in those clubs are more economically privileged. … I think the more expensive something is to you, the more you’ll see that it’s richer people in those things.”
ACADEMIC PRESSURES
According to Parlin, economic privilege influences academics nearly from birth. “Whether or not you had parents who read to you, whether or not you had access to books at home or educational materials, … that can have a huge impact”, he said. “Then you come into the school system either ahead or behind based on that.”
Financial advantages can carry through high school studies. “If you can’t afford a tutor and you’re falling behind, then that’s a problem,” Miller said.
“A lot of people take supplementary math classes and science classes … like Russian School of Mathematics,” Frankel added.
Parlin said that not having access to technology can add the problem. Even though South has resources like computers and printers available, several students said that these are not solutions.
“One of my friends cannot afford a laptop. He has one home computer, and he often has to run to the library, either at South or the Newton Public Library,” Alexis said. “It definitely affects how much time he takes to do assignments and the quality of his work.”
Almeida, for one, said that she has had personal experience with this obstacle. “I haven’t had Internet access before, and it was kind of difficult if teachers didn’t understand as much, because you don’t always have computer access at school,” she said. “Big projects are hard to do. I don’t think teachers are very aware of that.”
However, Alexis said that most of her teachers at South have handed out surveys at the beginning of the year that ask questions about Internet access at home.
The costs of school trips can also prevent students from enhancing their learning outside the classroom.
“They do have financial aid, but some people are so below [the poverty line that] they don’t have enough income at home [to pay for the trip] … even with the maximum financial aid you can get,” Almeida said. “I feel like the school could definitely support students more, give them better opportunities. Especially if you have less money at home.”
Parlin acknowledged that these costs can be prohibitive and added that South is working to make experiences like international trips more affordable.
The Global Education Leadership Fund, for instance, was introduced in the Newton Public Schools in 2008 and can cover up to 70 percent of a student’s expenses on school trips.
But many students said that the most devastating effects of economic hardship are psychological.
“When you have a hard home situation, you kind of feel disempowered, and you feel a bit beaten down,” Jonas said. “When that happens, you wouldn’t be focusing on something like trying to be educated outside of school because you wouldn’t have that luxury.”
Yet Alexis said that her economic background has had a positive impact on her academic performance.
“Growing up without all that money, my parents always placed an emphasis on education — that an education is what’s going to get you money, and an education is going to get you further in life,” she said. “I can imagine for people who are a bit wealthier, that motivation doesn’t exist, or maybe not to the same magnitude.”
COLLEGE PROCESS
Economic privilege also plays a role in the college process, admissions and otherwise.
Preparation for tests like the SAT has a price tag, according to Almeida. “SAT classes can be really expensive. I have friends who have a lot more money, and they can take all these really good classes and do amazing on SATs,” she said.
Melanie agreed. “My only prep [for the SATs] was a test book,” she said. “It’s worked out fine for me, but I know plenty of people whose parents have gotten tutors for them. ... If you can’t afford the price for that … you’re not going to get the advantage to get ahead.”
For Natalie, the expenses of the test itself prevented her from taking it again.
“I really want to to take it for December, but I don’t have $50 to give. I already took it two times, so it’s definitely a hardship,” she said.
“I don’t have a person that’s going to read my essay, and help me get it to be as good as the other kids’,” she added.
Ledig also said some of her students have paid tutors to edit their essays. “I’m glad that they do … but that’s an advantage,” she said. “I think that’s [something] we try to minimize at South. I know sometimes in English class, teachers work on the college essay with kids. That would be a way of making sure … all kids are getting help.”
Economic circumstances can also determine where students apply, according to Lazar. “I’ve heard from friends of mine who have gone through the experience of applying for college that having to pay the application fees [and] having to pay to travel to tour schools … definitely confines them on where they are applying and how they are applying.”
“Unless you get a fee waiver, [money] might limit the amount of colleges you can apply to. … I really want to go to Boston University, … so I wanted to apply Early Decision,” Melanie said. “The issue is that if you apply Early Decision, it’s binding. If you can’t pay that fee, it’s really hard to back out. [This] is yet another barrier in the process, because you might not be able to apply early, and applying early might help your chances of getting in.”
Though most colleges have processes to award fee waivers for applications, this does not always help, according to Alexis.
“The financial aid process itself is … really vigorous, difficult [and] tedious. Almost to the point where it’s discouraging,” she said.
The costs of the application process are often only the beginning of the problem.
“A lot of students nowadays are forced to take on loads of student debt because they can’t afford their college tuition,” Frankel said. “They even need to come up with the money themselves somehow, or get support from a family member or other places.”
“Colleges cost over $60,000. So, immediately some students who aren’t really aware of how much financial aid there is out there are ... thinking, ‘Oh, I can’t go to a private college. I have to go to a public college, [and] it probably has to be here in Massachusetts,’” Parlin said. “[That] isn’t always true.”
College and Career Counselor Kathleen Sabet said she works to educate students about all their options when choosing a college. Important to this lesson, she said, is the message that college is open to everyone.
“College in its beginning … was only for people who had money and … privilege — [people] whose families had reputations in the community. It was out of touch for a lot of people who didn’t have those resources,” she said. “It’s gotten a lot better from those days because now we have public colleges and … community colleges, which are much more affordable than private universities and colleges. That’s simply to allow everyone from across all socioeconomic areas to access a better life.”
Not everyone may understand the effects of economic privilege in the college process, according to Parlin.
“If you come from an affluent family, you’re not even thinking, ‘Which college can I apply to because of cost?’ You’re just thinking, ‘I can apply anywhere.’ I wish more people were aware of how fortunate they are,” he said. “People who are from low-income families, their decision is just, ‘Which can I afford?’ That’s a much more limiting thing.”
“Just knowing that your opportunities are limited because of your economic background can be somewhat discouraging,” Melanie added. “Sometimes it creates the mentality that you’re not as good as someone else, or that you’re not going to be able to achieve as much.”
At the least, Alexis said all students should try to be aware of the diversity of economic status. “I don’t think there should be people who are oblivious to this situation. At the very least, we should make sure everyone knows what kind of situation they’re in, what kind of situation others are in and to really treat others with respect,” she said. “[Wealth should not] be a determining factor in anything.”
*Names changed to protect students’ identities