Kelly and Andie are 5th grade students at Panorama Elementary School. It is what they do during their school day that makes them excellent "Kids of the Year".

Throughout this entire school year these two ten-year-olds have devoted themselves completely to helping and serving a very handicapped student in their classroom. They have given up playing with their friends at EVERY recess to play with Sadie, pushing her on the swings or playing other games with her. They help her during the day to get drinks and use the rest room, they eat lunch with her and they always involve her in any activity the class is doing. Sadie is unable to speak and communicates with only a few basic hand signs. She is both physically and mentally handicapped. She is very attached to both girls and they bring friendship, companionship and joy into her life.

Sadie just beams when she is with Kelly and Andie. You can see in her eyes the happiness she is feeling when she is with them. Kelly and Andie have done this on their own initiative. No adult has ever asked them to help or required this of them. They have set an incredible example for other students. Kids can often be frightened of others with disabilities, or make fun of them and reject them. Kelly and Andie have done the exact opposite. They have loved and embraced this classmate, becoming an unforgettable example for the other students to follow.