Welcome to Blandford School (6)
Welcome and thank you for choosing GRPS and Blandford School. Our staff is dedicated to helping each child reach their fullest potential and become independent, self-driven learners. We are fortunate to have Blandford Nature Center in our backyard which invites our scholars and staff to explore learning and use nature as their classroom.
If you are interested in learning more about the rigor and zeal of Blandford School, please contact us directly at 616-819-2555. We'd be happy to show you around the school!
Principal
Erin Shadowens

Blandford School
School Hours
Breakfast 7:50 a.m.
Start Time 8:10 a.m.
Dismissal 3:08 p.m.
Half Day Dismissal 11:20 a.m.
School Transparency
At Blandford, nature is your classroom!
Blandford is a 6th grade program that offers outdoor learning experiences and a rigorous curriculum. The school is designed to heighten an awareness of the environment, stimulate creative thinking, develop leadership, promote intellectual growth, and increase self-esteem. Our Blandford staff is committed to fostering your child's potential to learn and achieve through a learning environment that values hands-on, project-based learning experiences. Scholars are provided with exciting challenges and opportunities for a once-in-a-lifetime educational experience that focuses on nature and the great outdoors.
The Blandford "classroom" consists of over 100 acres of ponds, streams, woods, and fields along with a more traditional classroom that supports the outdoor theme. Attracting students from public and non-public schools throughout Grand Rapids, as well as a handful of students from nearby cities, the student body at Blandford is a heterogeneous mixture of ethnic, economic, and social backgrounds.
While we have too many special projects and programs to name them all, a few highlights include:
- chicken adoption
- International Night dinner
- performance of A Christmas Carol
- fall and spring camp
- Wildflower Tea
- BEEP Bazaar
We have incorporated distance learning for years and are poised to be a leader in the district as a blended model of new technologies and old practices, giving our students the best of both worlds. Our 1-to-1 student technology device approach ensures that every student has the opportunity to learn inside and outside the classroom.
Blandford School is located in a state of the art, LEED certified facility on the Northwest side of Grand Rapids. This building, along with Blandford Nature Center’s 143 acres of ponds, streams, woods, and fields, offers students an unparalleled learning environment. Scholars will enjoy their collaborative learning experience by sharing two classrooms and a large meeting space both indoors and outside in nature.
Blandford School Photo Tour
-
Click to see a larger version Skip to end of gallery Skip to start of gallery
-
Click to see a larger version Skip to end of gallery Skip to start of gallery
-
Click to see a larger version Skip to end of gallery Skip to start of gallery
-
Click to see a larger version Skip to end of gallery Skip to start of gallery
-
Click to see a larger version Skip to end of gallery Skip to start of gallery
-
Click to see a larger version Skip to end of gallery Skip to start of gallery
-
Click to see a larger version Skip to end of gallery Skip to start of gallery
-
Click to see a larger version Skip to end of gallery Skip to start of gallery
-
Click to see a larger version Skip to end of gallery Skip to start of gallery
-
Click to see a larger version Skip to end of gallery Skip to start of gallery
-
Click to see a larger version Skip to end of gallery Skip to start of gallery
-
Click to see a larger version Skip to end of gallery Skip to start of gallery
-
Click to see a larger version Skip to end of gallery Skip to start of gallery
-
25 Aug
-
First Day of the Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP)Date: Aug 25Calendar: GRPS District Calendar
-
-
29 Aug
-
NO SCHOOLDate: Aug 29Calendar: Blandford Calendar
-
No School | No LOOP ProgrammingDate: Aug 29Calendar: GRPS District Calendar
-
-
1 Sep
-
NO SCHOOLDate: Sep 1Calendar: Blandford Calendar
-
No School | No LOOP Programming | Labor DayDate: Sep 1Calendar: GRPS District Calendar
-
-
20 Oct
-
HALF DAY SCHOOLDate: Oct 20Calendar: Blandford Calendar
-
No School | No LOOP ProgrammingDate: Oct 20Calendar: GRPS District Calendar
-
-
31 Oct
-
Half Day of School for Scholars | No LOOP ProgrammingDate: Oct 31Calendar: GRPS District Calendar
-
HALF DAY SCHOOLDate: Oct 31Calendar: Blandford Calendar
-
-
4 Nov
-
NO SCHOOLDate: Nov 4Calendar: Blandford Calendar
-
![]() ![]() |
|||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
S | M | T | W | T | F | S | |||||
1 | 2 | ||||||||||
3 | 4 | 5 |
6
|
7 | 8 | 9 | |||||
10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
14
|
15 | 16 | |||||
17 |
18
|
19 | 20 | 21 |
22
|
23 | |||||
24 |
25
|
26 | 27 | 28 |
29
|
30 | |||||
31 |

The countdown to kickoff is on, and the Union Redhawks football team has something to prove this fall.

With the 2025 football season officially under way, Ottawa Hills football is hoping to build on their momentum from last year.

Grand Rapids Public Schools (GRPS) remains committed to transparency and clarity in ongoing contract negotiations with the Grand Rapids Education Association (GREA).