In some minds, none of the county's 45 high schools equals the Bergen Academies. Selective and career-focused, the school serves more than 1,000 students in seven programs at its Hackensack campus. Megan is a junior there. Jon, for his part, has found academic fulfillment at Northern Valley Regional High School in Demarest, one of Bergen County's finest high schools. Every year, hundreds of eighth-graders apply to the rigorous Bergen Academies.
Competition is always stiff, and most applicants are rejected.
It can be a crushing blow. When Jon's mother suggested the academy, he only shrugged. Three years later, he is first in his class at Northern Valley. To work in the science labs, she offered to help teachers. She entered all the science fairs.