Julia Hardy
Reporter
When one drives along Oenoke Ridge Road and sees the $200 T-shirts in Togs, the wealth of New Canaan could not be more evident.
Recently, this wealth has received national recognition. On Dec. 6, Business Week Magazine released the top 50 richest zip codes in the United States. Placed in 19th, mainly behind suburbs near Silicon Valley, New Canaan was ranked higher than any other town in Fairfield County.
With such extreme general wealth comes, for some, pressure to own the most high-end material items in order to fit the “norms” of town. “This town holds high expectations for everyone so the way that someone represents themselves is very important,” junior Ariana Ross said. “I feel like I need to have the best electronics and the best car to meet these expectations.”
Not all students shared this same need to meet the material expectations of NCHS. “I don’t really feel pressure to have ‘the best’ of everything,” junior Louis Hagopian said. “I wear and own what I want to.”
Junior Kaylee Brea agreed with Louis. “Most people just wear the clothes that they like and own the technology that they personally want to have,” she said.
For others, the lack of pressure to conform is due to perspective. “I don’t need to have the most expensive computer or the best phone because I know that there will always be other people around who have it even worse,” freshman Bridget Callahan said.
Whether or not they personally feel affected by the wealth of the town, all students agree that the prosperity has a large impact on our school. “We have access to the best technology and resources,” sophomore Spencer Lambdin said.
Ariana shares a similar perspective. “New Canaan has an above average public school system in part from our ability to get so many resources like iPads,” she said. “But at the same time, because of our town’s wealth, the school expects everyone to be able to purchase a $100 graphing calculator and not everyone can afford that.”
History Department Chair Mr. Richard Webb also noted that money has a clear impact on the mentality of parents about education. “Much material and economic support comes to a wealthy school district,” he said. “Parents in communities such as New Canaan are very successful and expect very high performance from both students and teachers.”
Contrary to Business Week Magazine, a 2008 CNN report on the most affluent towns and cities in the U.S. ranked New Canaan as the wealthiest in the country. “New Canaan was probably ranked lower than 2008 due to the financial crisis,“ Ariana said. “A lot of parents work on Wall Street and the stock market crash in 2008 probably affected the wealth of the town.”
“Why is the Courant even writing an article about New Canaan’s ranking?” Mr. Webb said. “Because wealthy towns are obsessed with rankings. It’s like the New York Yankees, they need to be number one. I would know – I’m from Westport.”
