The number of Chicago Public Schools students killed in gun violence this past school year dipped slightly from the previous year, but the total number of students who were shot was up sharply, according to figures from Chicago police.
Twenty-four students were fatally shot during the school year that ended June 15, four fewer than in the 2010-11 year. But the overall shooting toll — 319 — was the highest in four years and a nearly 22 percent increase from the previous school year.
The rise in shootings of CPS students compounds concerns over an alarming increase in the city's homicide rate. Through June 17, homicides are up about 38 percent citywide this year compared with the same period in 2011, while shootings are up 12 percent.
The casualty toll includes students shot at all hours of the day, and the numbers from police don't indicate where the shootings occurred. Still, the number of students who were shot presents a vexing problem for CPS officials who have spent millions of dollars trying to stem violence.
The national spotlight on the beating death of Derrion Albert in 2009 brought a heightened focus on combating youth violence under former schools chief Ron Huberman. He added mentoring and advocacy programs for at-risk students, launched intensive "Culture of Calm" programs at 38 troubled high schools, provided community patrols at schools and enlisted faith leaders to open churches after school and during the summer to keep kids off the street.
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-06-26/news/ct-met-cps-student-violence-0625-20120626_1_cps-students-students-shot-safe-Think of it, each year more schoolchildren are killed here than were killed yesterday. But they are almost all poor and black, and the shootings don't happen at once, so they become barely newsworthy. Fleeting stories in the daily paper or local newscasts.
A few years ago my husband's T.A. told him that she had to take time off because her young cousin had just been shot and killed. He, an older sibling, and the youngest sister had driven to a basketball game. On the way home, a drive-by shooting occurred, and he threw himself over his baby sister. He died. He was from a good family. He was a good kid, working hard at a local vocational school. He was just another victim among dozens of kids who died here that year. It breaks my heart every day.
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