She says it’s not that Wheaton is trying to make up for a lack of resources—unlike many school districts around the country. “This is Montgomery County!” she says, which is third in per-pupil spending in the entire U.S., behind only New York City and Baltimore. A challenge at Wheaton, Gerhardt says, is that students carry the burdens of poverty—burdens that can be too heavy for many students no matter how hard their educators work to level the playing field.