After she finished her reporting for the next days paper, Banchero decided to linger on in the school, spend some time with Rayola, and test her hunch that this was a promising child to follow. She accompanied Rayola to her first day in her new fourth-grade classroom. Banchero noticed that, though Rayola was a quick study, she had clearly missed out on some key concepts in her old school and was having a hard time keeping up. This, it turned out, was not simply because Rayola had come from an underperforming school. Towards the end of the first day, the assistant principal took Rayola aside and questioned her about her grade level. Though Rayola insisted she was in the fourth grade, the principal knew otherwise: Rayola had not passed the third grade the previous year.

Because the process of school transfers was so chaoticCarwell had found out that her children could transfer only four days before the start of classesmany parents did not have time to access their childrens records. As a result, Stockton teachers had to assess Rayolas abilities on the spot when she arrived that morning. They also had to take Carwell at her word when she informed them that Rayola was in the fourth grade. During the school day, however, the NCLB coordinator for Stockton was able to track down Rayolas records, which indicated that, though Rayola had earned straight As, she had flunked third grade, mostly due to absenteeism. (A Chicago Public Schools rule stipulated that a child who missed more than 18 days of school automatically failed the year.) When Stockton officials confronted Carwell with the information, Carwell denied it before finally conceding the point.

Listen to Banchero describe the first sign of trouble.

Witnessing the scene, Bancherowho had stayed the entire school daythought the stand-off made her choice of Rayola even more promising than she had hoped. This is interesting, Banchero recalls thinking at the time. Already theres an issue with what grade shes in? There was another issue: Over the course of the day, Banchero had seen that Rayola was smart and attentive. If she had failed the third grade due to absenteeism, Banchero wondered what could be getting in the way of Rayolas progress. Why had she missed so much school?

Though she was not yet sure of the direction of her story or what the plot twist implied for her assumptions, Banchero decided Rayola Carwell would still make a good subject. Though the mother was still agitated from her discussion about Rayolas grade level, Banchero decided to approach her about a profile of Rayola. As Yolanda Carwell gathered her children to head home, Banchero explained that shed like to write a story about Rayola, which would mean following the girl for the entire school year. When Carwell agreed, Banchero asked if she could accompany the family to school the next morning in order to get a better sense of how they managed the long trek from the South Side. Carwell had no objection.