Urban Essex County children are not short on talent. They are short on access.
Today, competitive preparation often happens outside the school day — math enrichment, coding camps, robotics, writing workshops, debate, test prep, private tutoring and summer programs.
But too often, those opportunities are expensive, distant or fragile.
A child in Short Hills may begin robotics, coding or math competition training years before high school. A child in Newark, East Orange, Orange or Irvington may not see serious enrichment until much later — if at all.
That gap matters.
It shapes who gets stretched early, who enters selective programs prepared, who learns the hidden rules, and who is left trying to catch up after the race has already begun.
Talent is here.
Access is not.
Read the full article at Essex County Current.
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