PALM HARBOR - Tasha Roebuck and Nakita Kestler both have porcelain skin, light brown hair and a Milky Way of freckles dotting their noses and cheeks.
"We both have freckles, and that's why we're buddies," Nakita said.
Physical similarities aside, they differ greatly when it comes to their intellectual abilities.
While Nakita takes an elective class for the gifted, Tasha spends most of her school day in a self-contained class called Supported Varying Exceptionalities. Most in the class have IQs lower than 50 and are considered trainable mentally handicapped.
"You haven't called me lately, and I'm offended," said Nakita, 11, with a smile and a shoulder nudge.
"I'm going to miss her when I go to high school," said Tasha, 14, a shy young girl who tends to hide behind her long mane of hair.
Their friendship is a rare one in today's megasized middle schools, where most find comfort and friendships within their own intellectual circles.
Nakita of Oldsmar and Tasha of Palm Harbor forged their friendship through the Alliance - a radical social experiment that is bold and innovative and came with the risk of failure.
At the beginning of the school year, two Carwise Middle School teachers, Linda Wallenhorst and Becky Gonzalez, decided to pair gifted sixth-graders with the intellectually challenged students.
Not for an hour or two, but all year.
Twice a week, a group of gifted students partnered with the special needs students, many of whom can barely speak, and helped them with their academic and social skills.
"Our goal is for our students to be positive social interactors, community contributors and collaborative workers," said Wallenhorst, who teaches an elective class for the gifted. "It was a perfect way for us to work on all of those skills."
The results were better than anyone had anticipated.
Not only did those with IQs higher than 130 excel as leaders and mentors, but also the exceptional students showed significant improvement in their speech and communication skills.
Suddenly, the socially isolated were relating to the "cool kids" in the school.
They were focusing on their work. Their self-esteem soared.
Friendships between the two groups swelled in the classroom and rippled into the hallways, the cafeteria, and before and after school.
At first, Wallenhorst feared her gifted students might oppose the idea. But she soon discovered they looked forward to the visits.
"They couldn't wait to go over," she said. "They found they had more commonalities than differences. They loved their roles as teachers and mentors."
On Monday, the two groups got together for a farewell ceremony in the school's courtyard.
"This has really helped my students with their speech and self-confidence," said Gonzalez, who teaches the special needs class. "Now they will initiate conversations and even sing karaoke with their friends in chorus. They were much more motivated to work when they knew they (the gifted class) were coming."
Wallenhorst said they plan to continue the program next year.
"It was a tremendous success." she said. "It meant so much to everyone involved. I hope the spirit of the Alliance spreads throughout the school."
Carwise principal Gary Linder also was enthusiastic.
"Ms. Wallenhorst's class has gone above and beyond what was expected of them, and I know Ms. Gonzalez appreciates all the extra attention and help," Linder said. "And it's great for the special education students because they tend to spend the majority of their day together, and now they have an outside friend to wave to at the school."
Linder said he has heard of similar programs where a group of gifted children joins with special education students, but this is the first time there has been a yearlong program.
One student feels especially good about the program.
Sam Parvin, 15, who has Down's syndrome, now has three best buddies whom he can hang out with in the lunchroom and hallways.
"It makes me very happy," he said.
One of his bright pals, Michael Magilligan, 11, said Sam had a lesson plan for him.
"He taught me how to respect kids less fortunate," Michael said.
Alyssa Strumpfler, 11, said the students taught her to be patient but admits it was a lot of fun.
"It was a different kind of fun than I have with my regular friends, but I really enjoyed it," she said.
After the goodbyes were said and promises to call were made, Nakita walked to her next class and talked about the experience.
"It was great to make these kids feel like they were a part of the school," she said. "I really think they enjoyed having some regular friends in their lives."
