ST. LOUIS — Students and staff at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School return to in-person learning on Tuesday, Jan. 17.
It's the first time many will walk through the doors, since the deadly school shooting on Oct. 24, 2022.
Alexzandria Bell, 15, and Jean Kuczka, 61, lost their lives that day, after a former student opened fire inside Central VPA.
In-person learning was originally set to return on Monday, Jan. 9.
District officials said that was postponed because of construction delays to fix the damage from the deadly school shooting.
Several changes have been implemented for students and staff's return on Tuesday from mental health resources to added security measures.
George Sells, Saint Louis Public Schools Communications and Marketing Director, said they want to make it as normal as possible.
"We're going to meet them where they are, meet their families where they are, and do everything we can to help them in moving forward from this," he said.
The halls inside CVPA have been quiet for months now, but all that's going to change come Tuesday morning.
Principal Kacy Shahid said she's ready to welcome back students.
"Do I wish that I didn't have to have this conversation about what happened? I do, but again at the same time, I'm very optimistic about what is to come," she said.
According to Sells, extra safety measures will be in place the moment the first bell rings.
"On the outside, you will see St. Louis Police around a little bit more. You'll see some of our external security officers outside too. Inside the building, we're going to have more security officers and we're going to have some who are armed and some who are not," he said.
Just as important as everyone's physical safety is their mental well-being.
For that reason, Shahid said, 15 to 20 therapists will be available for individual and group sessions, as well as therapy dogs.
"We'll have a combination of therapeutic support and they'll be here indefinite, until we need them. That is something, that again, we can't put a time on trauma, so it'll be until that call is made through our professional support systems," she said.
It's trauma that the district understands everyone is dealing with differently.
That's why if students aren't comfortable walking through the doors again, they can still learn online, according to Sells.
"If we've got a student who needs a little more time, we're going to provide that time and we're going to make sure that they don't fall through the cracks while they are taking that time," he said.
While no one will forget what happened on that Monday in October, the school is focused on moving forward.
"Focus on the growth, the opportunities for innovation, opportunities for creativity, opportunities to love our students and just create this culture of kindness, so that's what we'll put our efforts on," Shahid said.
"The most important thing to us is just to know where people are, don't assume everybody's okay, and just to love one another," Sells said.
The district did do a survey to gauge how students and staff felt about coming back.
According to Sells, they don't have an estimate of how many students will show up on Tuesday because some could change their mind at any moment.
He added that the staff is ready and excited to welcome students back with open arms.
Students and staff at Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience, which shares a building with CVPA, started in-person learning in late November, with the option of remaining virtual for the rest of the school year.
If you would like to help either school you can donate here, through the Saint Louis Public Schools Foundation. Make sure you put "CVPA/CSMB" in the additional comments field.