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CHICAGO — The morning trip to school for dozens of teenagers here had all the normal signs: bleary eyes and the seemingly endless wait for the bus.

But there was tension underlying the routine: The trip was under the watchful eyes of parents, an alderman, a principal and police.

The escort to and from Crane Tech High School this week is just one of the ways Chicago is dealing with a wave of violence.

Chicago Public Schools is one of the only urban districts to track how many students are killed by guns — though none of the slayings have occurred on school property.

Nationally, homicide was the second-leading cause of death for young people ages 10 to 24 in 2004, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Chicago's overall homicide rate, like that in other major cities, dropped to a record low in 2007. But the murders that do occur are hitting young people hard, frightening students and parents, and prompting everyone from Mayor Richard M. Daley to activists to call for action.

Operation Safe Passage began this week. It provides escorts for students from the ABLA Homes public housing development to Crane Tech High School. Many of the 120 students from the housing project have not been to school since March 7 because they fear retaliation after a reputed gang member shot and killed another student who lived on a rival gang's turf.

Three of Michelle Johnson's children attend Crane, and she says the escorts help.

"For right now, I feel it's kind of safe,” said Johnson, who added that she is willing to take her children to school every day until the situation improves.