Students with Rifles, Swords

Great posture, crisp uniforms, attentive faces and intelligent questions. This is what I found at Carver Military Academy on Thursday.

This is the 6th year of the high school's transition from the neighborhood campus serving the residents of Altgeld Gardens on the city's far south side, into the selective program based on U.S. Army protocol.

If structure, discipline, responsibility and achievement are the goals - they were quite evident today. But I also felt a warmth and pride from the students and faculty that made room for fun within the formality!

While Mr. Flisk, Principal, and Major Rouse, Commandant, were on hand, it was mainly the student leaders who guided us visitors through the tour of the facility, demonstrations (drill teams, honor guards, fencing team), introductions in the classrooms and explanations of the complex uniform supply operation.

Young people who stand and greet in unison when an adult enters their classroom, salute all those in uniform, end their sentences with "ma'am" and "sir" ... frankly, it was a bit disconcerting at first. But then there was enough giggling, teasing and jousting for position during pictures that I could be sure there were normal teenagers behind all that respect.

I also realized that following the strict procedure for treatment of visitors had given them a way to confidently interact with strangers.

It is here that some parents of students at Christian Fenger Academy High school want their teens to be able to transfer. This is the campus that residents of the Altgeld Gardens housing projects called their own for decades.

Some blame the new commute to Fenger for tensions that led to the death of honor student Derrion Albert. But for most, there will be no going back to Carver. The old Carver no longer exists. Only about 15 percent of those enlisted at Carver the Military Academy come from the Gardens.

It is not a place for everyone. Some teens may not respond to this structured style of learning ... heck, some adults I know don't have the discipline for Carver!

Just as this school has been transformed, the plan is to turn other under-performing programs into centers of achievement. Accomplishing this without leaving hundreds of students behind is the challenge.

At the luncheon downtown thanking the Principals for the Day, Mayor Daley described - promised even - Fenger High School as a school "on the rise". Many people are skeptical, but it would be a lasting legacy of a life cut short if indeed that dark afternoon caught on tape brings the spotlight that ensures success.

Every student should have the opportunity to matriculate in an environment where excellence is the standard. But suddenly switching to a great school will not instantly achieve greatness -- if the foundation has not been laid in the formative years (experts say 3rd grade is a benchmark point in reading, for instance), the result could be mere frustration and disruption.

We've spent millions trying to close the gap between the best and the worst performing schools, but this will not be a quick fix. Seeing the wealth of the future through the eyes of today's Carver High School students, insures me that it is worth it. 

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FOX Chicago's Robin Robinson and Jeff Goldblatt pent time as "Principal for a Day" at two area schools. Take a look at the video from the event.