Fenger
High School on the South Side made national headlines when one of its students,
Derrion Albert, was killed in a September 2009 after school melee.
But long
before that, the school had an academic reputation for low performance, poor
graduate rates and high dropout and truancy.
But the
school's new principal, Liz Dozier, said she is committed to turning Fenger’s
image and performance around.
On June
1, dozens of the school's sophomores took part in a special half-cap graduation
ceremony that commends them for academic performance thus far, and encourages
them to continue to work toward their senior year graduation.
In front
of their classmates, parents and teachers, students accepted praise,
encouragement and certificates for making it through their first two years of
high school.
School
officials say it's symbolic of the school district's efforts to address reduce
the drop out rate, increase the graduation rate and send students successfully
off to college.
Copyright
2011 Chicago Defender
