ST. LOUIS — On Tuesday, it will have been one year since a former student opened fire inside Central Visual and Performing Arts High School, resulting in the deaths of a student and a teacher. As a mark of respect, classes at CVPA and the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience, which shares its campus within the St. Louis Public School District, will be canceled on Monday and Tuesday. 

The community is designating October 24 as a day of remembrance. On that day last year, a 19-year-old gunman killed two individuals and injured seven others at Central Visual Arts and Performing Arts High School. 

This incident was one of the deadliest school shootings in the U.S. last year. Among the victims were tenth-grader Alexzandria Bell and 61-year-old physical education teacher Jean Kuczka, who tragically lost their lives before police exchanged gunfire with the assailant, former student Orlando Harris. 

In the wake of the tragedy, trauma and stress continue to affect the school community. Additionally, Lindbergh High School has recently initiated the Jean Kuska Memorial Scholarship in honor of the late teacher, with plans for a similar tribute at CVPA in the near future.