Top: Anastasia making her way in her graduation procession.

Above: Anastasia and Alba proudly converse with former president Bill Clinton.

Filled with a number of different emotions ranging from excitement to intimidation, the girls and their family are looking forward to the new adventure ...

girls faced another challenge three years later when Mary found that she now needed to strug gle in order to send her daughters to District 2's "School of the Future" junior high school in 1996.

Mary saw the technologically advanced, junior high/high school as the ideal place for her daughters, especially Alba, as she is dependent on a computer for her communication. Placement there would also obviate the girls' need for another transition from junior high to high school levels.

The school district estimated that the cost of creating the appropriate facilities for the girls, mainly wheelchair accessibility, would be more than $1.2 million dollars. Somoza found the estimate excessive and began another battle in the name of her daughters' rights. With the help of the Eastern Paralyzed Veterans' Association and the New York City Lawyers in the Public Interest, Mary prepared her own report. This finding put the cost at $15,000.

The report forced the school administration to back down, and the girls were enrolled at the "School of the Future." There, they experienced many academic successes but are nevertheless eagerly anticipating their transition to college. Filled with a number of different emotions ranging from excitement to Top: Anastasia making her way in her graduation procession. Above: Anastasia and Alba proudly converse with former president Bill Clinton. intimidation, the girls and their family are looking forward to the new adventure but feel, as Mary Somoza explained, that it is nevertheless "a daunting time."