OPB’s new ‘Class of 2025’ documentary follows Oregon teens in their crucial first year of high school

OPB, a member-supported public media organization serving the Northwest, today announced a new documentary that follows a group of Oregon students as they navigate the challenges of high school and offers a peek into the world of teenage life.

“Class of 2025: Freshman Year” is part of OPB’s long running “Class of 2025″ multimedia reporting series, which began in 2012 after the state of Oregon set a goal that every student would complete high school starting in 2025.

OPB began following a group of 27 students in Southeast Portland from kindergarten, documenting their educational journey toward high school and tracking their real-life successes and setbacks along the way.

Now, the students are in high school, and OPB Education Reporter Elizabeth Miller is on the ground documenting their crucial first year. The teens are adjusting to in-person learning during an ongoing pandemic and facing social and academic pressures at the largest high school in the state.

In the documentary, Miller focuses on one student who is struggling to adjust to in-person learning at a new school after remote learning at home, and another who is forced to change schools after being suspended from his mainstream high school.

“Class of 2025: Freshman Year,” dives into a world in which young people are figuring out how to be resilient – with supportive adults around them – while also learning who they are and what they want to become as they face the challenges of the next three years of high school and plan for their future.

The documentary is available to watch now at opb.org/classof2025 and at watch.opb.org. It will also air on OPB TV on Monday, October 17 at 9 p.m.

Made possible by the generous support of OPB members, this project is produced and directed by Kate McMahon and reported by Elizabeth Miller. The senior producer and creator of the Class of 2025 project is Rob Manning. It was edited by Dan Evans, and MacGregor Campbell provided graphics and animation.

More information about OPB’s “Class of 2025″ multimedia series, including news reporting, student profiles, podcast episodes, videos and photos is available at opb.org.