Degrassi set
n.— «For a while now, the “Degrassi” set has been the talk of Broadway, for one big green reason: the musical “Wicked,” which was created for a general audience, but began attracting a fanatical, often face-painted following of teenagers and tweens a few months after it opened in 2003. It also began grossing well over a million dollars a week. It quickly became a notion along Broadway that the young demographic could make a hit, and producers with new shows spoke to investors about tapping the so-called “Wicked” market.» —“Tweens Love Broadway, but Can’t Save It Alone” by Campbell Robertson New York Times Oct. 2, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Amid court-ordered busing in the 1970s, a middle-school teacher tried to distract her nervous students on the first day of class with this strange assignment: find a monarch caterpillar. The result? A memorable lesson in the miracle of metamorphosis...
She sells seashells by the seashore. Who is the she in this tongue twister? Some claim it’s the young Mary Anning, who went on to become a famous 19th-century British paleontologist. Dubious perhaps, but the story of her rise from seaside...
My uninformed guess is that this may be related to some Canadian television series: “Kids of Degrassi Street,” “Degrassi Jr. High,” “Degrassi High” and now, I think “Degrassi: The Next Generation” which would seem to target the age group referenced. I believe at least some of those series have been exported to the US.
“Degrassi High” has also aired in Australia.