Perry gets wave of support from surrounding school districts after shooting

A wave of Iowa school districts have shown support immediately after Thursday’s shooting in Perry High School, which left one sixth-grader and police-identified-shooter Dylan Butler dead along with five more injured.

From students at a metro school asking their principal to help fill the halls with Perry colors, a former conference rival returning support after a tragedy of its own last season and a school down the road running a moment’s notice fundraiser — there’s a wide range of support the Bluejays and Jayettes have experienced since Thursday.

Woodward-Granger provides facilities, sells T-shirts

Located just nine miles down the road from Perry, Woodward-Granger went into a lockdown upon the news of an active shooter in Perry’s building. Woodward canceled its classes and evening activities for Thursday and Friday, just as Perry did.

First-year activities director Molly Charley said when the school went into lockdown, her mind went to “What can I do to help?”

She found multiple ways to offer the school’s support to their neighbor where two current Woodward coaches used to work, not to mention community members who work or have family in Perry.

More: Iowa schools show solidarity with Perry High after school shooting leaves 11-year-old dead

Thursday night, Charley said that the school’s girls and boys basketball contests on Tuesday against AC/GC would be “blue out” games and a fundraiser. That quickly spiraled into a full-on support plan, starting with a T-shirt drive.

The school partnered with Signature Shop located in Grimes, selling blue Woodward shirts for $20. Speaking with the Perry Chief on Friday after school, Charley said the shirt drive had sold out with all $7,250 of the profit being donated to Perry victims (disbursement is likely to go to the GoFundMe).

But the neighbors’ hand reached out further, as Charley offered the school’s facilities for Perry's teams to practice in over the weekend. Charley also gathered a group of community members to help provide breakfast for Perry’s players so they could have a “normal space” amid the charged moment.

“I didn’t ask for permission. I didn’t call my superintendent. I did it because didn’t know what else to do,” Charley said. “When you don’t know what to do, you do what you can.”

Dallas Center-Grimes students start a movement

Students emailed Dallas Center-Grimes High School principal Travis Donahue on Thursday saying they would like to “wear blue to support (their) friends from Perry,” and on Friday, the halls were filled with over 800 blue shirts, according to communications director AJ Ellingson.

And the show of support extended beyond the hallways. Though the Mustangs do not host a basketball game until Jan. 12, fans traveling to Friday’s game in Indianola were asked to swap their red and white for blue. DCG’s players also elected to wear blue for their warm-up shirts.

Indianola activities director Lee Nelson said that making Friday’s game with the Mustangs about Perry was a way to help unite communities.

“I can't speak for everyone else, but tragic situations have a way of bringing people together,” Nelson said. “Whether you had a tie to Perry or not, (Thursday) was a tough day to watch unfold. While most people will never be able to know what their school and community is going through, I think everyone wants Perry to know that we are thinking of them during this difficult time.”

ADM fans, players wear blue and raise funds

Upon the news of the situation in Perry, students in Adel wanted to stand in solidarity in any way they could.

“Our basketball teams said, ‘Let’s talk about doing a blue-out. The girls wanted to wear blue ribbons, things like that. So I give a lot of credit to our coaches and our kids. They’re outstanding. They want to be supportive,” said ADM activities director Rod Wiebers. “They feel for the community. So they were the ones that instigated most of the ideas.”

Fans of both teams Friday night in Adel were asked to wear blue in place of their typical red-black and black-gold gear, and donations to help Perry could be given throughout the night through ADM After Prom. While there are no figures available at the time of writing, ADM’s gym was packed more than usual for a conference matchup, as the overflow parking extended beyond typical limits.

“We want to be able to show people that we’re here for you,” Wiebers added. “We’re in it together. Any amount helps. That’s Central Iowa. That’s Iowa.”

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This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Students in nearby schools support Perry after Thursday's shooting