.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan got a painful reminder last week that not enough has been done to save schoolchildren from violence.
On July 25, Christina Waters, 18, was shot in the head in the 8700 block of South Wood after leaving a picnic.
Waters’ best friend, Kris Owens, was wounded in the attack. Waters remains in a coma, fighting for her life.
Duncan was in Florida, heading for Chicago, when people started calling and e-mailing him about the tragedy.
Waters had attended Ariel Community Academy, a small school founded by John W. Rogers Jr., head of Ariel Investments. The school is part of the Ariel Education Initiative, which Duncan led before becoming the Chicago Public Schools CEO.
Best friends since childhood, Duncan and Rogers went to see Waters together.
Duncan was in town to discuss the U.S. Department of Education’s “Race to the Top” fund. The will award states an unprecedented amount of money to dramatically overhaul schools.