Principal tested early at Chester High

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yesterday afternoon, the khaki-uniform-clad students were in class, the campus was tidy, and the hallways were quiet.

It was a far cry from a day earlier, when a 17-year-old was shot in the leg, bringing down a swarm of TV trucks, helicopters, police and unhappy parents.

Kareem York was wounded in the upper leg and is expected to be released today from Crozer-Chester Medical Center, he said from his hospital room yesterday. York said the bullet went in and out and he did not need surgery.

"I was walking on it today," he said. "I never had pain in my legs."

The student suspected in the shooting, Thomas Lee Gilbert, 16, surrendered to detectives yesterday and was charged as an adult with attempted homicide and aggravated assault. He is being held at the Delaware County Prison.

Coping with the fallout from the shooting is principal Keith Arrington, who has been on the job less than one month.

He says he needs to fix a "broken infrastructure" and make sure that everyone knows what he or she is responsible for, to make sure education is a priority, and to make sure students are safe.

Arrington has another mission.

"My full-time job is changing a perception," Arrington said. "A common saying in this city is 'That's Chester.' It is a negative connotation that needs to change to a positive."

The shooting occurred after a fight inside the school, and the other students involved in the brawl have been suspended, said James H. Allen, the school's chief safety executive.

While yesterday was mostly quiet, Arrington said, a few students did have a verbal confrontation.

Arrington said he let them know that behavior was unacceptable. "Quiet and contrite" was how he described their reaction.

"After the events of yesterday, it boggles the mind they would even get into that," he said.

The graduate of Carver High School, Temple University, and Gwynedd-Mercy College grew up in Philadelphia. While his father was involved in his life, Arrington said, he was raised by his mother who "gets the bulk of credit for me being me." He has a wife and two children.

Up until he received a call from Chester Upland's new superintendent, Gregory Thornton, to join him, Arrington was an assistant principal at Philadelphia's Northeast High School.

"What I knew of Chester was as an outsider," he said.

Now, he is heading up the only high school in a district that has a history of low test scores and high dropout rates. Since the 1990s, Chester Upland has been under one form or another of state control. Gov. Rendell appointed a new school board in March.

The high school has about 1,600 students; about 400 were absent yesterday, a higher number than normal. Walking the halls, Arrington said he was still getting to know the names of his students.

And the students are still getting to know him.

"Are you the principal?" a student asked as she bolted by him in the hall on her way to class. "I kind of figured it, but I had to make sure."

Arrington, dressed in the school colors - a black suit and dark orange shirt - for a scheduled parents' night, was looking beyond the shooting. He frequently spends evenings planning for the school's future.

He sees a lot in Chester High School to be positive about.

"A lot of schools in Philadelphia don't have facilities like this," Arrington said, showing off the cafeteria and new senior lounge in a room once used for storage.

Arrington plans to change how the students think about themselves, how they deal with conflict, and how they look at their future.

"To restore the value a student places on education" is how Arrington puts it in his self-published book on teaching, Beyond Content.

Arrington knows he has to "wear many hats" - those of social worker, counselor, educator and parent - to reach his students, some of whom lack life's basic necessities.

Ismar Harris, 15, a freshman football player, said he understood the administration's focus on academic work and getting to class on time.

Referring to the shooting, he said, "Things happen anywhere. . . . Violence is all around. We just get it pinned on us because of where we live."

Harris said there were a number of talented and smart students at the school who did not get acknowledged by the public.

Sounding very much like the math teacher he is, Hrant Jilozian calculated that, per capita, Chester schools have no more problems than Philadelphia schools, but any little thing and "you can see the helicopters flying."

Jilozian has seen some changes with the new administration.

"I think you feel they are more caring," he said. "Their door is more open."