"...re from comfortable families that invested in getting them to the level where they could make it into the school."

And this is one of the most significant problems with these schools (and something Gee substantively ignored). 

The TOPS program at Bloor has a written admission test for their grade 9 program. Math education in the elementary and middle school grades is regarded as poor. So, if a kid is coming from a family who can't afford pricey after-school math programming (which is how my kids' school wants to solve the problem)  then I guess TOPS is out of reach. Tough luck.

Arts education in the primary/junior grades is sorely inconsistent across the system. So, if a family can't afford to send their kids to drama class or art class then where does that leave them for ESA or CW?

Gee's snarkiness in this column adds nothing to the difficult conversation that needs to happen: how can we ensure that admission to these programs is done in an equitable and transparent way?