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MATTER OF FACT. IT’S CAP AND GOWN SEASON. NEARLY 4 MILLION HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS ARE SET TO GRADUATE THIS YEAR, BUT IT’S HARD WORK GETTING TO THIS POINT, NOT JUST FOR THE STUDENTS, BUT FOR THEIR SUPPORT SYSTEM. IN TRENTON, NEW JERSEY, THERE’S A UNIQUE EFFORT TO HELP BOTH. TRENTON’S MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME WAS ABOUT $47,000 IN 2023, AND THAT’S ABOUT $33,000 LESS THAN THE UNITED STATES AS A WHOLE. AND TRENTON HAS A HIGHER POVERTY RATE, ABOUT 25%, COMPARED TO 11% NATIONALLY. AND THAT MEANS KEEPING UP WITH BASIC NEEDS CAN BE A CHALLENGE FOR FAMILIES, LET ALONE COSTS OF AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES AND TUTORS AND COUNSELING. THAT’S WHERE HOMEWORKS TRENTON COMES IN A FREE PROGRAM WHERE GIRLS ATTENDING PUBLIC SCHOOLS LIVE TOGETHER. OUR CORRESPONDENT, LAURA CHAVEZ TRAVELED TO TRENTON TO LEARN MORE. YOU’RE LOOKING FOR STUDENTS WHO ARE GOING TO DO BIG THINGS IN LIFE. YEAH. NATHALIE TUNG, WHOSE PASSION IS EDUCATION. BUT IT WASN’T ALWAYS THAT WAY. I THOUGHT LEARNING WAS REALLY JUST TO MEMORIZE AND TO REGURGITATE AND TO AND TO TEST. GROWING UP IN HONG KONG, NATALIE NEEDED MORE FROM HER SCHOOL EXPERIENCE, SO HER PARENTS SENT HER TO A BOARDING SCHOOL IN THE U.S. WHEN SHE WAS 13. I WAS LIVING WITH A GROUP OF YOUNG GIRLS. WE WERE ALL TEENAGERS AT THE TIME. TO BE ABLE TO ACTUALLY BE VULNERABLE WITH MY FRIENDS HERE, IT HELPED ME REALLY START TO UNDERSTAND WHO AM I BECOMING. THE IMPACT WAS SO PROFOUND. SHE WENT ON TO STUDY TEACHING AT PRINCETON DURING HER SOPHOMORE YEAR, NATALIE DECIDED TO LAUNCH AN AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM THAT MIRRORED HER BOARDING SCHOOL EXPERIENCE FOR HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS. HOMEWORKS IS A FREE, COMMUNITY BASED, AFTER SCHOOL RESIDENTIAL PROGRAM WHERE WHAT WE’RE DOING IS COMBINING THE BOARDING SCHOOL EXPERIENCE WITH THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM FUNDED BY FOUNDATIONS, CORPORATIONS, INDIVIDUAL DONATIONS AND SOME GOVERNMENT MONEY. HOMEWORKS IS A DIFFERENT KIND OF BOARDING SCHOOL. THE 19 STUDENTS AT CURRENTLY SERVES. ALL GIRLS ATTEND FOUR AREA PUBLIC SCHOOLS. AFTER A DAY OF CLASSES, THEY’RE PICKED UP BY A HOMEWORKS BUS AND BROUGHT TO THEIR DORM FOR ADDITIONAL COURSES, MENTORING, DINNER AND SLEEP. AND ON FRIDAY AFTERNOONS THEY RETURN HOME FOR THE WEEKEND. ONE OF TUNG’S GOALS FOR THE PROGRAM WAS TO ADDRESS A CHRONIC ABSENTEE ISSUE, 15% FOR THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY, 34% FOR TRENTON. BUT FOR HOMEWORK SCHOLARS, IT’S 0%. WE MOSTLY FOCUS ON THE SCHOLARS WHO WE CALL THE FORGOTTEN MIDDLE, WHERE OUR SCHOLARS ARE REALLY BRILLIANT AND REALLY AMAZING AND CAN EASILY BE THE FOUR POINT SCHOLARS. BUT MAYBE BECAUSE OF THE LIMITED ACCESS TO RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES, SOMETIMES THEY’RE OVERLOOKED WITHIN THE EDUCATION SYSTEM. JADA K IS A SOPHOMORE LIVING AT HOMEWORKS. IT’S DEFINITELY MADE MY SCHOOLWORK, LIKE, EASIER TO DO, HAVING LIKE, TUTORS BE THERE FOR YOU, LIKE EVERY DAY. PRIOR TO HOMEWORKS JADA K GREW UP LIVING WITH HER WORKING SINGLE MOM, LEAVING HER TO SPEND MOST OF HER TIME ALONE. NOW IN HER SECOND YEAR OF HOMEWORKS, SHE SAYS THE BENEFITS ARE MORE THAN JUST ACADEMIC. I WAS NOT VERY SOCIAL BEFORE I GOT HERE. IF I WASN’T HERE, I DON’T KNOW WHAT I WOULD BE DOING. LIKE I WAS JUST PROBABLY AT HOME DOING NOTHING. COLOR IS RED. THE COLOR IS YELLOW. I FEEL LIKE BEING HERE. THEY’RE IN THE SAME KIND OF ERA OF THEIR LIFE AS WELL. SO IT’S KIND OF LIKE SHARING ONE EXPERIENCE, IF THAT MAKES SENSE. OKAY. DO YOU WANT TO MEET WITH A TUTOR? HOMEWORKS ALSO PROVIDES ITS SCHOLARS WITH COLLEGE PREP COURSES, SO POSTPONING YOUR ACCEPTANCE TO THE FOLLOWING SEMESTER OR YEAR. LOOKING BACK AT THE NUMBERS, HOMEWORKS ENROLLMENT HAS GROWN FROM HAVING JUST FIVE GIRLS IN 2017 TO NOW HAVING 19 GIRLS UNDER ITS ROOF SINCE IT OPENED EIGHT YEARS AGO. HOMEWORKS HAS HOUSED OVER 55 SCHOLARS, INCLUDING DURING ITS SUMMER SESSIONS. SO THIS IS A RENDERING OF OUR NEW CAMPUS. NATALIE SAYS SHE NOW RECEIVES ABOUT 100 APPLICATIONS A YEAR, SO THEY’RE OPENING A NEW SPACE. THIS BUILDING, I THINK, IS MORE THAN A PHYSICAL SPACE. IT’S GOING TO REALLY BE AN ANCHOR IN THE COMMUNITY. ALONG WITH DOUBLING THE ROOM FOR SCHOLARS, THE NEW HOMEWORKS CAMPUS WILL HAVE A GAME ROOM, STAFF OFFICES, OUTDOOR RECREATIONAL SPACE, AND MUCH MORE. WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF HOMEWORKS? I HOPE TO START EXPANDING INTO NEW JERSEY AND THEN, YOU KNOW, AROUND THE COUNTRY AND THEN ULTIMATELY GO GLOBAL. I THINK WHAT I SEE IS ALL THESE GIRLS DOING EXCHANGE PROGRAMS, GOING TO DIFFERENT SITES AROUND THE WORLD TO LEARN ABOUT THE WORLD, AND THEN BRINGING THAT KNOWLEDGE BACK TO THEIR OWN HOMES, TO THEN CREATE CHANGE IN TREN