School’s Attendance Still Low, Security Tight

By Chip Mitchell
School’s Attendance Still Low, Security Tight
Crane High School
School’s Attendance Still Low, Security Tight
Crane High School

School’s Attendance Still Low, Security Tight

By Chip Mitchell
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On the first day after Spring Break, attendance at Chicago’s Crane High School remained low and security tight. We report from our West Side bureau.

Police charged a Crane 10th-grader with gunning down a classmate near the school March 7. Since then, many parents have kept their children home from the school amid fears of gang reprisals.

This morning, police and parents escorted a half-dozen students from a public-housing complex called ABLA, where the alleged shooter lived. Those students included three of Michelle Johnson’s kids. She gave them some advice.

JOHNSON: Just have faith, faith in God this morning, and just focus.

A school district official says just more than half of Crane’s 1,400 students attended today. They found more police officers and unusually rigorous weapons screening.

ambi: Screening.

Classes let out this afternoon with about a dozen police cars lined up around the school. ABLA parents say they’ll continue escorting kids to and from Crane as long as necessary.