Sickening fact

I have long said the school I tutor for is an upper middle class, new rich school- it is well known throughout the city for that and it is often mocked because of it. Gonzo and I were talking with Mrs. C today and we decided to do a car count/tally on what the kids drive. The parking lot holds 300 cars and here are some of the noteables. We walked through the parking lot and this is what we found to bring you this report:

Count/Car
- 6 Mercedes Benz C, D, or E Class cars (all 2004 or newer) ($35,000+)
- 4 Chevy Silverados (all but 1 are raised) ($20,000+)
- 2 Lexus IS ($30,000)
- 2 Lexus GS450 ($53,000+)
- 2 Hummer H2 ($50,000+)
- 4 2007 or newer Toyota Camry
- 2 2007 Nissan Altima's (1 Hybrid)
- 1 2004 or so Honda Accord Hybrid
- 1 2007 or 2008 Toyota Tundra full size double cab
- 6 Toyota Sequoia SUV's (and 2 of them were new) ($40,000+)
- 13 Ford F-150s (all raised), Excursions, and Expeditions ($20,000-40,000+)
- 1 96 or so Volvo 960
- 1 Infiniti G-35 ($35,000)
- 7 Chrysler PT Cruisers ($12-20,000ish)
- 4 2007 and newer Chrysler Sebrings (with the George Foreman grill hood) ($18,000)
- 7 Hyundai Accents (all new within the past year or 2) ($12-13,000ish)
- 1 Mercedes G Class ($101,000+)
- 1 Lotus Elise ($45,000+)
-11 Mazda 3's ($15,000+)
- 9 VW Jettas ($20,000+)
- 4 Ford Focuses ($15,000ish)
- 4 Jeep Wranglers ($15,000+ and 3 have 4WD because that's so important in So Cal)
= NEARLY 100 NICE CARS
*** All of these are no more than 2-3 years old, and I know cars pretty well to be able to confirm this
*** Most of the cars in the parking lot (80% or better are 2002 or newer)



The oldest cars in the parking lot:
- Late 80s Toyota Corolla
- Late 80s Jeep Wrangler
- 94 Honda Accord
- mid 90s Ford Explorer
- mid 90s Chevy Astro Van



What do us tutors drive?
- Up until this year I drove a 9 year old full size sedan, but now I drive a compact car that I paid for myself (which 90% of the students at this school would never fathom... haha... very few have jobs outside of school)
- Scion (that she pays for)/ prior to the Scion the girl drove a Kia Sephia/Chevy Astro
- 2006 Honda Accord her parents bought after her 92 Altima was in an accident
- 2007 Camry SE
- 92 Acura Integra
- 2002 Acura RSX
- 2000 Toyota Tacoma
- 2000 Honda Accord
*** For most of us these cars are hand me downs, which is definitely not the trend at the school I work at where most get brand new cars and the expensive cars I mentioned in most cases are brand new.

Now you might be wondering what the teachers drive (110 teachers)...
- Nicest teacher cars: 2 Ford Expeditions (counselor and 1 teacher), 1 Nissan Armada, 1 Dodge Ram, 1 Ford F-150
- Most of their cars are 4-5 year old Oldsmobiles, Accords, Camrys, Malibus, Corollas, Civics
- A few Toyota Highlanders/4 Runners that are 4-5 years old

As far as racial statistics it looks like this:
58% White
22% Hispanic
10% Black
9% Asian
1% Indian
10% of the students qualify for free and reduced lunch, but honestly, they hide it well (everyone has their iPods, nice cars, parents shell out $$$$$ for nice clothes to help them fit in... just today I heard 4-5 people talking about their new TRUE RELIGION JEANS AND I SAW THEM WEARING THEM... NO JOKE...)

But on the other hand there are THOUSANDS of foreclosures and I can name at least a dozen students in the program I tutor for whose parents are in foreclosure. This is in Riverside County where the foreclosure rate is the highest in the nation. Driving around the school nearly every other house is in foreclosure. All of the backyard home resorts the people put in, the money spent on cars, and things like that would have been better spent elsewhere.

I'm getting a bit preachy, but my main intent was to show how spoiled some of the kids are in my area.