This paper discusses the results of a research carried out with students from the State of Pará on the relations between the life projects of youth and public high schools. Data were collected in 2009 through twelve Dialogue Groups with 245 students from two hinterlands cities (Mojú and Santarém) and the Capital. These declarations allowed us to identify some of the schools' contributions to the concretization of their demands and expectations, as well as many gaps and dead ends. The text begins with a general discussion on the Brazilian high school context and the relationship with youth. It then situates the specific reality of schools in Pará, according to the youth's point of view, and tries to comprehend the distances and approximations between youth expectations and the experiences offered by their school.
Education; High school; Youth