A qualitative study was conducted in 1992 of high school students in an urban school district in the northeastern United States. The initial focus of the study was school and student culture, student expectations, curriculum, achievement, attendance, and dropout rates. However, the study progressed to focus on how students survive the violence in their schools and communities. Several high schools in the district were studied for 1 month through observation and interviews. During the second month of the study period, observations and indepth interviews were collected at just two high schools in the district. Data also were collected from school records and other public documents. The schools were of similar size with high-security environments, and the student populations were majority African-American. Thirteen teenagers at the two schools provided primary data for the study. In one of the schools, eight students were killed between May 1992 and January 1993. The students discussed how they cope in their violent surroundings, maintain their dedication to school and education, and their outlook for the future. The students also offer their reactions to the murder of a classmate. (Contains 45 references.) (JPT)