Sunday, May 30, 1999
Class achieves pride and expectation
Landmark group active, energetic
BY BERNIE MIXON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
WYOMING — Smiling back from a photograph captured in Mary Jo Peairs' morning kindergarten classroom in 1987, Leah Dixon knew her class was special, even if she didn't quite understand why.
A budding cheerleader and architect then, Leah, 16, who will be a senior in the fall at Wyoming High School, understands now what it means to be in the Class of 2000.
“There is some sense of pride,” said Leah, who plays soccer and is involved in Project Lead. “But our class has identity even without being the class of 2000.”
Back in 1987, the class began kindergarten with 79 members. Of that number, 58 original members remain. Combined with 76 new students, the class is set to have 134 seniors next year.
The Enquirer has followed the progress of these students since they entered kindergarten and will continue to monitor the class until graduation next year.
Teachers, counselors and administrators say they have watched the group mature into self-assured teen-agers, full of confidence and determination.
“When these kids arrived in kindergarten, they were told they were very special,” said Carrie Smith, an art teacher and a class adviser. “They didn't know what the Class of 2000 was. They were just counting to 10 and 20.”
But it hasn't all been fun. The students have had their share of tough times, too — a popular teacher died of AIDS and a student died after sniffing butane at a party.
Even with all the attention, the Class of 2000 seems to have flourished in the spotlight.
“They are a very strong class. They show a great deal of leadership ability and perhaps one of their greatest strengths is they have a matu-
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