Kyle is 6 feet 4 and possibly still growing. Lean, fit, a little bit shaggy, he looks primed for either of his extracurricular passions, baseball and rock 'n' roll. Exceedingly polite to adults, he comes across as a consummate nice guy.
He has attended La Canada schools since kindergarten. His family's home is modern and spacious, complete with pool and spa.
Kyle's parents, Janna and Craig, are lawyers who place paramount priority on the education of Kyle and his younger brother. Janna is a past president of the La Canada Education Foundation, which has raised as much as $1.3 million a year for local schools. Craig worked as in-house counsel for Vans Shoes but refused an offer to move to Northern California, in large measure because of La Canada's schools.
Henry might not stand out in a crowd. He's soft-spoken, average height, dresses modestly, doesn't cause trouble. But he has a killer smile and a quiet determination, and he can be a class leader. Girls seem drawn to him.
Born in L.A., Henry has spent his life on the move. Little hops, one neighborhood to the next. He attended four elementary schools, stayed in one middle school, then began Jefferson High -- only to be whisked off to Idaho and then a suburb of Houston for the first semester of 10th grade.
Upon returning to L.A., Henry, his parents, two younger brothers and a younger sister rented a single room in an apartment in Watts. As 11th grade began, Henry's mother, Irma, and stepfather, Raul Ramirez, worked at a convalescent hospital in La Habra. In Henry, they see hope for a success they were never able to achieve.
Irma, a high school graduate who had two years of college in El Salvador, never reached her goal of a nursing license. Raul, a native Californian, dropped out of Roosevelt High. Of Henry, he said: "He could be whatever he wants to be . . . We're pretty sure he's not interested in gangs or anything like that."
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Superficially, your schools are more alike than different. Between classes, the hallways can seem crowded and chaotic, although you both navigate the maelstrom with calm assurance. Like most students, you eat lunch outdoors in the same spot every day, with the same friends. Your teachers are mostly seasoned and dedicated. By 11th grade, most students -- even at a school like Jefferson, which has been called a "dropout factory" -- are there to learn. Or at least to graduate.
Still, if you could trade places for a day, you'd also see vast differences.
