After bumpy start, East Tech connects with its students

Perhaps the best thing that happened during East Technical High School's inaugural year of "transformation" was that the worst didn't happen.

Some had warned that gang violence and bloodshed would accompany an influx of students from East and South, high schools the district closed to save money and help purge dysfunction.

Tense moments can be common in an urban high school. Some surfaced early in the year as administrators struggled to shepherd students wandering the halls during class periods.

But the predictions of chaos never panned out, at least not inside East Tech, where security was on high alert as classes began in late August. One reason may be that a lot of kids apparently took a pass: Enrollment forecast at 1,200 or more reached perhaps 900 at best and was barely above 800 at the end of the school year.