Mr. Reynolds Goes to Washington : Education: Student body president finds the capital prompts dreams of glory when he represents his school during a national awards ceremony.

LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE —  When La Canada High School student body president Todd Reynolds first heard that he had been chosen to go to Washington to meet the President, he conjured up a famous image: the young Bill Clinton standing in line at the White House to shake hands with President John F. Kennedy.

Reynolds envisioned standing in line in the White House Rose Garden to be honored by President Clinton. And for a fleeting moment, of course, the 17-year-old senior thought of the presidency--Todd Reynolds in the Oval Office.

Last weekend young Mr. Reynolds went to Washington to represent his peers during a ceremony in which Clinton was to honor the nation’s 260 “Blue Ribbon Schools” chosen by the U. S. Department of Education. Also on the trip were La Canada High Principal James Stratton and Robert Miller, a school counselor.

Together, the three briefly rubbed elbows with the famous and the powerful. They admitted to feeling just a bit patriotic. But even more, they felt pride, believing they had collectively done something good. And they were told so. La Canada High School had arrived.

Blue Ribbon schools are recognized for excellence in fostering teachers, high quality of curriculum, effective teaching methods, parent and community support, and strong science and math programs, school officials said.

For Reynolds, his time in the nation’s capital did not go exactly as he had dreamed. Clinton, who was rumored to be in the White House at the time, did not make it to the Rose Garden ceremony. Al Gore filled in. Standing only a few feet away, Reynolds wrote in his journal that the vice president looked the same as he does on TV.

Wouldn’t it be funny, Reynolds thought, if he just reached over and put his arms around Gore right in front of the TV cameras? Nah, the Secret Service agents wouldn’t think it was so funny.

What did an all-American, 6-foot, clean-cut, churchgoing Eagle Scout with a 3.5 grade-point average think when standing next to the vice president of the United States as he addressed the educated crowd in front of him?

In his journal, Reynolds rated Gore’s remarks as “kind of cheezy and a major ‘kiss butt’ act to the teachers. He also tried too hard to use his hand gestures. But I shouldn’t be talking. He is the V.P. and I’m not!”

Gore finished his speech and walked past Reynolds.

“How are you?” Reynolds heard himself squeak as he stuck his hand out.

“Doing just fine,” the vice president said, making eye contact and extending his hand.

“Wow. That was the vice president of the United States, and I shook his hand,” Reynolds would later tell a reporter.

Reynold’s dream of the presidency resulted in an epiphany of sorts during a tour of the White House.

“I want to be President,” he noted. “I wouldn’t mind living here!”

Reynolds said his ideal President would be a three-part combination of Clinton, his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and former President George Bush. Clinton has the “vision thing,” whether it’s the right one or not; Bush seemed to have the honesty and Mrs. Clinton has the focus and the perseverance to get the job done, Reynolds said.

But Reynolds, a member of the post-Watergate generation, admitted he does not think much of politicians.

“If the forefathers of our country were here right now, they’d be sick,” he said.

For the moment, anyway, he is planning on studying premed at Brigham Young University. He wants to be a doctor, like his father.

“I admire my father a lot,” he said. “He has principles--some of them are strict--and he sticks to them.”

A principled young man himself, Reynolds believes in helping others for the greater good of human relationships. He also firmly believes in another ideal: that politicians can stand to lose some pay and teachers should gain some.

And it is that youthful earnestness, sense of goodwill and clarity that defines Reynolds’ character, said Stratton, 43.

The principal called the trip to Washington a “high point of my career.” It all hit home, Stratton said, when he was standing before the impressive dome of the Capitol Building and on the White House lawn, where so many distinguished people had gone before.

“It was really very, very, very exciting. It really was an honor,” he said.

His school’s mission now, the educator said, is to continue the tradition for its 1,100 students. Still, he hardly minded the recognition: “I would love to go back again.”

Stratton said La Canada High School administrators made a conscientious effort to raise the achievement level of the high school about four years ago, when Jim Davis, the current superintendent, was the principal.

Davis, however, credited the laying of the groundwork to the principal before him--Andrew J. Meyer, now an assistant superintendent.

However it started, Davis said, the high school was confident and hopeful that it would get recognition. “We think we’re a good school and we’ve worked really hard in trying to make changes for the better,” he said.

The 45-year-old administrator, who has spent 24 years in various posts in the Los Angeles and La Canada unified districts, said he has always believed that teaching methods should evolve to meet the changing demands and needs of the students. La Canada is a small enough district that changes can bring immediate results, he said.

“You can bring people around to (understand and support) that,” he said. “I’ve never found the majority of the teachers or the parents to be resistant to change.”

Earlier this month, state education officials announced the results of advanced placement exams administered by the New York-based College Board to 284 high school seniors in the district.

La Canada led local districts, with 96.8% passing per 100 students, in a performance that placed the school third in the state. A passing grade can qualify for course credit at many colleges and universities, and 98% of the high school’s graduates go to college.