Stumbling over his feet during marching drills, Perfecto was convinced he belonged at Kelly High School, a few blocks from his home. Both hail from struggling single-parent households and have a long history of academic problems and suspensions. The military model seems to be working for Perfecto and Free, both of whom are sophomores now. After Vines corrected a grammar error in English class, Free, a slender young man with a thin mustache, turned to a classmate and cringed. Seems like only yesterday the same teacher stopped each of them in mid-sentence for a similar infraction.
Students get a hefty dose of the basics, with double periods of reading and math.
No other Chicago school places so much importance on a student's oral communication skills. Persuading the school's 277 cadets to give up slang isn't easy. But Free took the general's words to heart after studying the faces of his classmates during marching drills one morning. He said he realized how many of his elementary school friends were either gang members or considering dropping out when they turned 16. Then he began to focus on his grammar, practicing at home and picking up tips from his mother, a cosmetics saleswoman.