Blandford Building
GRPS Expo & Information Fair Join us on Wednesday, January 28, 2026 at GRPS University and learn more about the region’s largest, most comprehensive selection of school choices offered at GRPS.
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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!

Erin Shadowens
Principal

School Apps

Blandford School

3143 Milo St. NW Grand Rapids, MI 49534
Phone: 616-819-2555 Fax: 616-819-5243
Erin Shadowens
Principal
Nicolette Ferguson
Head Secretary

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. 

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


  • 14 Jan
    • Alexander Community Engagement Meeting
      Date: Jan 14
      Time: 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM
      Location: 1331 M.L.K. Jr St SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49506, USA
      Calendar: GRPS District Calendar
      This meeting will be held in the Auditorium.
    • Alexander Community Engagement Meeting
      Date: Jan 14
      Time: 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
      Location: 1331 M.L.K. Jr St SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49506, USA
      Calendar: GRPS District Calendar
      This meeting will be held in the Auditorium.
  • 15 Jan
  • 19 Jan
  • 23 Jan
    • Union Redhawks Boys Basketball Youth Night
      Date: Jan 23
      Time: 4:00 PM to 8:30 PM
      Location: Union High School, 1800 Tremont Blvd NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504, USA
      Calendar: GRPS District Calendar
  • 26 Jan
    • Union Redhawks Girls Basketball Youth Night
      Date: Jan 26
      Time: 4:30 PM to 7:30 PM
      Location: Union High School, 1800 Tremont Blvd NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504, USA
      Calendar: GRPS District Calendar
  • 28 Jan
    • GRPS Expo & Information Fair
      Date: Jan 28
      Time: 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM
      Location: 1400 Fuller Ave NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49505, USA
      Calendar: GRPS District Calendar

      Join GRPS on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, from 4:30–6:30 p.m. at GRPS University for the annual Expo & Information Fair! With the largest selection of school choices in West Michigan, this is your chance to explore our schools, learn about enrollment, and meet GRPS staff while enjoying free dinner, giveaways, and fun activities.

      Bring the whole family and get ready for the 2026–2027 school year—see you there!

  • 30 Jan
    • Ottawa Hills Bengals Boys Basketball Youth Night
      Date: Jan 30
      Time: 4:00 PM to 8:30 PM
      Location: Ottawa Hills High School, 2055 Rosewood Ave SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49506, USA
      Calendar: GRPS District Calendar
  • 10 Feb
    • Ottawa Hills Bengals Girls Basketball Youth Night
      Date: Feb 10
      Time: 4:00 PM to 8:30 PM
      Location: Ottawa Hills High School, 2055 Rosewood Ave SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49506, USA
      Calendar: GRPS District Calendar
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Restore the doors: Facilities team preserves historic auditorium entrances

When the renovated Betty Bloomer Ford Auditorium reopens this year at Innovation Central High School, guests will once again enter through doors that are more than a century old - carefully refurbished by the GRPS facilities team.

Theme School Application Window Now Open

Grand Rapids Public Schools is now accepting theme school applications for the 2026–27 school year.

GRPS Family & Community Engagement – January Updates

Here are some highlights from this month’s Family & Community Engagement (FACE) Newsletter.