Dear Alger Middle School Families,
We have additional information to share about today's incident near Alger Middle School and our plans to heal as a school community.
To allow additional time for scholars and staff to process what happened today, we are canceling classes at Alger Middle School on Wednesday. This decision is being made after receiving feedback from our Alger Middle School families and staff.
We will have additional staff at Alger Middle School on Thursday when scholars return, including trained crisis debriefers for both our scholars and staff. Our Safety and Security team is also preparing to have metal detectors in use to ensure that no weapons are allowed into the school.
We can also provide an update on today's incident. The shooting happened at 12:07 p.m. inside a bathroom at the park located near Alger Middle School. The student injured was shot once in the cheek. We are thankful that their injuries are not life-threatening. Both Alger Middle School students involved have been cooperative with Grand Rapids Police during their investigation.
This is an important reminder to talk with your children about the dangers of firearms. Our Social & Emotional Learning team has created this document containing discussion starters for parents, caregivers, and school staff to use to talk with children about the dangers of guns and how to process violent incidents in our community.
I want to sincerely thank our Alger Middle School staff for their quick actions today. In the moments after the shooting, our team members rushed to the aid of the injured student outside the building and called emergency responders for help. Staff inside the building quickly issued a lockdown to keep students safe.
We will come together as a GRPS community to support our Alger families and staff and finish this school year strong.
If you have additional questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to Principal Charlie Lovelady: loveladych@grps.org.
Sincerely,
Dr. Leadriane Roby
Superintendent
Alger Middle School Resource Guide
