Mayor Daley: "Fenger is a Very Good School"

Chicago - "Fenger has a very good principal and it's a very good school" Mayor Richard Daley said Thursday at Orr Academy where he was principal for the day.

He walked around with teachers and students at the North Side school, giving the faculty a job well done---for improving test scores and preventing some of the violence that once plagued the school.

Daley and schools’ Chief Ron Huberman said they want the same thing for Fenger.

"When you walk into that school you see students engaged,” Huberman said. “You see students learning, families that we talk to say they like what they see and we don't want to leave that."

"Yeah they're engaging alright---they're engaging in fighting---everyday---that's the rule of engagement...it's ain't about education," said a parent.

Some parents who live in Altgeld Gardens said it's embarrassing for Daley and Huberman to say Fenger High School is safe. The school made world news when an honor student was beaten to death just blocks from the school.

"If Fenger was a success story, why isn't Daley here, and if it's safe, why didn't he come do principal for a day there," another parent said.

Daley and Huberman said the media is trashing the school, making it and some of its students look bad.

Daley said millions just went into the school for new computers and other state of the art equipment. But some of the students walking the halls everyday said the computers are nice, but where did the rest of the funds go?

“We spend 30 to 40 millions at the school and it's doing very well,” Daley said.