Catalyst Chicago

For decades, students and teachers at Jenner Elementary on the Near North Side faced repeated tragedies due to the gang and drug-related violence in the Cabrini-Green housing project. Assaults on two Jenner students made national news and embodied the toll that the violence took on children: Dantrell Davis, who was shot and killed in 1992 while walking to school, holding his mother’s hand ; and Girl X, who in 1997 was raped and choked nearly to death in a high-rise before the school day started.

But for many families, Jenner was a solid anchor. Veteran art teacher Matias Schergen created his alter ego, “Mr. Spider,” on his first day at Jenner in 1993, and used both his carefully crafted classroom persona and his genuine respect for students to build strong relationships with them and their families...