OXFORD, Mich. – The interior at Oxford High School has been upgraded before students return for classes for the first time since the deadly mass shooting.
Officials with Oxford Community Schools shared pictures Friday of upgrades to the high school’s interior, including fresh paint and new ceiling tiles and carpeting. Several walls have also been decorated with new graphics and murals of the high school’s mascot, the wildcat.
Hearts and snowflakes with notes of encouragement were made by elementary and middle school students in the district, and have been hung on the high school students’ lockers, officials said.
Classes were canceled for Oxford High School students following the shooting on Nov. 30, 2021 that injured seven people and killed four students: 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana, 16-year-old Tate Myre, 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin and 17-year-old Justin Shilling.
Earlier this month, the high school students were placed on a hybrid schedule, which includes both in-person and virtual learning, and temporarily attended classes at Oxford Middle School and Oxford Bridges High School. Students are set to return to Oxford High School for classes on Monday, Jan. 24.
The district’s plan was to transition Oxford High School students back to classes as slowly as possible to help ease the students and teachers back into the building.
The temporary memorial that was created by the Oxford community outside of the high school will be removed, but officials say there is a plan to create a permanent memorial.
Read more: Memorial for Oxford High School shooting victims to be removed until long-term plans are made
Nearly two months have passed since the accused shooter, 15-year-old sophomore student Ethan Crumbley, opened fired inside of the high school during school hours, striking 11 people. The teen is facing 24 felony charges as an adult and is currently awaiting trial. A not guilty plea was entered on Crumbley’s behalf for all charges.
The suspected shooter’s parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, are also facing four involuntary manslaughter charges each for their alleged role in the deadly shooting.
On Wednesday, Oxford Community Schools Superintendent Tim Throne issued a letter to “clarify” incidents leading up to and following the shooting.
In the letter, Throne addressed a deer head that was found at the school Nov. 4, the head of a bird found in a jar at the school on Nov. 11, claims that live ammunition was found at the school, tips sent to law enforcement, what the district knew -- or didn’t know -- about the suspected shooter’s social media posts, training that he said saved lives that day inside the high school, and law enforcement’s response.
More: Oxford schools superintendent says district was unaware of Ethan Crumbley’s social media posts
The district, along with Throne and other school administrators and staff, are currently facing a $100 million civil lawsuit filed on behalf of two students who survived the Nov. 30 shooting.
See: Civil lawsuit against Oxford school district, staff amended to include new counts
Full coverage: Oxford High School Shooting