CPS to Open Carver to Some Fenger Students

Chicago Public Schools said it will offer alternatives to students looking to leave a South Side high school after an honor student's beating death.

Christian Fenger Academy High sophomore Derrion Albert was killed during a sprawling fight after school on Sept. 24.

Students maintain the conflict was fueled by tensions between students who live near Fenger and those who commute from Altgeld Gardens public housing, about five miles away.

Spokeswoman Monique Bond said Thursday that CPS would open an unspecified number of slots next semester at Carver Military Academy, which is much closer to Altgeld. Once an open enrollment school, Carver is now a military academy with selective enrollment. 

After $4 million in renovations, the shuttered Carver Middle School will be converted into a charter high school top open next fall, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

"If your child goes to Fenger and you want to transfer your child out, we're giving you some options," said district spokeswoman Monique Bond, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Students would still have to meet Carver's strict entrance criteria.

CPS officials also say they plan to work with parents who don't want to send their children to either school.