ST. LOUIS — The woman shot to death at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School on Monday has been identified as Jean Kuczka, a physical education teacher at the south St. Louis school.

Jean Kuczka
Kuczka, 61, of Jefferson County, had taught at the school since 2008, according to .
A gunman came into Kuczka’s classroom, Room 323, and Kuczka went in front of him to protect the students, her daughter was told. It wasn’t immediately clear why the gunman went to her room or if he targeted a certain teacher.
Alexzandria Bell, 15, was also slain in the rampage before police stormed the school at 3125 South Kingshighway and killed the gunman, who police identified late Monday as Orlando Harris, 19, a graduate last year of the school.
“My mom loved kids,†her daughter Abigail Kuczka said. “She loved her students. I know her students looked at her like she was their mom.â€
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Former students and coworkers remembered Kuczka as a dedicated teacher.
Jean Kuczka was an amazing educator. She loved her students and helped them make a difference in the school and community. This is a huge loss. I always loved seeing her at the school.
— Glenn Barnes (@SocratesAsksWhy)
Glenn Barnes, an employee at St. Louis Public Schools, called Kuczka “an amazing educator†who made a difference in her community.
“This is a huge loss,†Barnes said.
Jean Kuczka graduated from Lindbergh High School in 1979. She attended Southwest Missouri State University, now Missouri State, on a field hockey scholarship and was a member of the 1979 national championship team.

Jean Kuczka
She taught physical education at Seven Holy Founders in south St. Louis County for 16 years. She later taught PE at Carr Lane middle school in the St. Louis Public Schools system, then transferred to Central Visual and Performing Arts in 2008. The school website says she has taught health, personal finance and PE.
Kuczka recently began coaching cross country at Collegiate, an SLPS magnet school that shares a campus with CVPA.
“This was her first year of empty-nesting, and she was looking for something extra to do,†Abigail Kuczka said. “She was definitely looking forward to retirement though. She was close.â€
Kuczka was the mother of two sons and three daughters. One of her sons is a Eureka police officer. She also had six grandchildren. Her husband, Stephen Kuczka, choked up when reached by phone Monday afternoon but said he didn’t want to comment yet.

Steve, Joe, Megan, Isabelle, Abbey, Steve Jr. and Jean Kuczka, in a 2019 family photo at a river home in Eureka. Photo courtesy Kuczka family
Abigail Kuczka said her mother talked about security concerns at the high school once last semester, telling relatives that a student from another school brought a gun into the building.
“She mentioned that, but other than that, she didn’t really think anything†about safety concerns, her daughter said. “I mean, I think people think it will never happen to them.â€
Kuczka loved bike riding and every year would participate in an event to raise money to help fight juvenile diabetes. One of Kuczka’s sons was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was 10 years old, her daughter said.
Kuczka's family said anyone who wants to contribute in her memory can do so at her Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation fundraising page .
Photos: School Shooting at CVPA High School in St. Louis

High school students console one another in the parking lot of Schnucks on Arsenal, after fleeing Central Visual and Performing Arts High School after a shooting at the school on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022.

“He looked at me, he pointed the gun at me,†said Ray Parks, second from right, a dance teacher who came face to face with the gunman. Parks was prayed over by student Messiah Miller, 16, center, a junior at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School, and others outside the school where a shooting took place on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022, in the Southwest Garden neighborhood.

People embrace in the Schnucks Arsenal parking lot following the shooting at Central Visual Performing Arts High School in St. Louis on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022. Photo by Jordan Opp, jopp@post-dispatch.com

People race across Kingshighway at Arsenal Street after a shooting at Central Visual & Performing Arts High School and the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022 in the Southwest Garden neighborhood. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com

St. Louis police officers work outside the scene of a school shooting at Central Visual & Performing Arts High School and the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022 in the Southwest Garden neighborhood. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com

People embrace in the Schnucks Arsenal parking lot following the shooting at Central Visual Performing Arts High School in St. Louis on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022. Photo by Jordan Opp, jopp@post-dispatch.com

A third-floor window is shot out at Central Visual & Performing Arts High School following a shooting on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022 in the Southwest Garden neighborhood. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com

St. Louis Public Schools Superintendent Kelvin Adams steps away after speaking at a news conference outside Central Visual & Performing Arts High School following a school shooting on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022, in the Southwest Garden neighborhood.

Concerned parents arrive at the scene of a school shooting at Central Visual & Performing Arts High School in south St. Louis on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com

Police cars assemble at Arsenal and Kingshighway on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022, at the scene of a shooting at CVPA and Collegiate high schools. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com

St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones hugs U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, D-St. Louis, before a news conference outside Central Visual and Performing Arts High School following a school shooting on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022, in the Southwest Garden neighborhood.

A parent embraces his child at the evacuation point for students who were at Central Visual & Performing Arts High School after a shooting at the school in south St. Louis on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com

Takisha Duncan (left) embraces her child Taniya Lumpkin, a senior at Central Visual & Performing Arts High School, at the evacuation point on the Schnucks parking lot after a shooting at the school in south St. Louis on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com

Messiah Miller, 16, a junior at Central Visual & Performing Arts High School, is reunited with his mother Bridget Morrow following a school shooting on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022 in the Southwest Garden neighborhood. Messiah studies music at the school. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com

High School students were evacuated to the Schnucks parking lot from the Central Visual & Performing Arts High School after a reported shooting at the school in in south St. Louis on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com

People embrace at the evacuation point on the Schnucks parking lot after a school shooting at Central Visual & Performing Arts High School in south St. Louis on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com

Law enforcement arrives at the scene of a school shooting at Central Visual & Performing Arts High School in south St. Louis on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com

St. Louis interim Police Chief Michael Sack speaks at a news conference watched by Public Safety Director Dan Isom and U.S. Rep. Cori Bush outside Central Visual & Performing Arts High School following a school shooting on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022 in the Southwest Garden neighborhood. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com

St. Louis interim Police Chief Michael Sack speaks at a news conference outside Central Visual & Performing Arts High School following a school shooting on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022 in the Southwest Garden neighborhood. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com

St. Louis police officers work the scene outside Central Visual & Performing Arts High School and the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience following a school shooting on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022 in the Southwest Garden neighborhood. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com

Teacher Debbi Cox, center right, shares hugs with a student following a shooting at Central Visual & Performing Arts High School and the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022 in the Southwest Garden neighborhood. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com

U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, D-St. Louis, steps away after speaking at a news conference with St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones and interim police Chief Michael Sack outside Central Visual and Performing Arts High School following a school shooting on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022, in the Southwest Garden neighborhood.Â

Law enforcement officers gather on the football field behind Central Visual & Performing Arts High School and the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience following a shooting on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022 in the Southwest Garden neighborhood. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com

An ATF agent works at the scene of a shooting at Central Visual & Performing Arts High School and the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022 in the Southwest Garden neighborhood. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com

Parents and students walk across Kingshighway at Arsenal Street after a shooting at Central Visual & Performing Arts High School and the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022 in the Southwest Garden neighborhood. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com

An ATF agent passes under police tape at the scene of a shooting at Central Visual & Performing Arts High School and the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022 in the Southwest Garden neighborhood. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com

Teacher Debbi Cox, center left, stands with a student following a shooting at Central Visual & Performing Arts High School and the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022 in the Southwest Garden neighborhood. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com

A Central Visual Performing Arts High School employee, left, hugs her sister in the Schnucks parking lot following the shooting at the high school on in St. Louis Monday, Oct. 24, 2022. Photo by Jordan Opp, jopp@post-dispatch.com

Schnucks Arsenal frozen foods manager Steven Bunting, left, hands out water bottles to police officers in the Schnucks parking lot following the shooting at Central Visual Performing Arts High School in St. Louis on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022. Photo by Jordan Opp, jopp@post-dispatch.com

Kit Roesch, right, a junior at Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience, hugs her father Don Roesch in the Schnucks Arsenal parking lot following the shooting at the school in St. Louis on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022. Photo by Jordan Opp, jopp@post-dispatch.com

People check their phones as they walk towards the Schnucks Arsenal parking lot following the shooting at Central Visual Performing Arts High School in St. Louis on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022. Photo by Jordan Opp, jopp@post-dispatch.com

People embrace in the Schnucks Arsenal parking lot following the shooting at Central Visual Performing Arts High School in St. Louis on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022. Photo by Jordan Opp, jopp@post-dispatch.com

Bethlehem Lutheran Church pastor Gerard Bowling, right, leads students, teachers and family members in a prayer in the Schnucks Arsenal parking lot following the shooting at Central Visual Performing Arts High School in St. Louis on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022. Bowling arrived at the scene after receiving a text from one of the youth members of the church who attended the high school. Photo by Jordan Opp, jopp@post-dispatch.com

A side entry door, shot out at the bottom, is guarded by St. Louis police following a school shooting on the shared campus of Central Visual and Performing Arts High School and Collegiate School of Medicine & Bioscience.

A side school entry door, shot out at the bottom, is processed by a St. Louis police crime scene officer following a school shooting at Central Visual & Performing Arts High School on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022 in the Southwest Garden neighborhood. A teacher, student and the suspected shooter were killed in the morning attack. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com

St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner, second from left, and her staff arrive at Central Visual & Performing Arts High School following a shooting on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022 at Kingshighway and Arsenal Street. A teacher, student and the suspected shooter were killed in the morning attack. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com

A man brings flowers to Central Visual & Performing Arts High School following a shooting on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022 at Kingshighway and Arsenal Street. A teacher, student and the suspected shooter were killed in the morning attack. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com

A friend of Alexzandria Bell, the student killed in a school shooting at Central Visual & Performing Arts High School, leaves the school grounds on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022 in the Southwest Garden neighborhood. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com

Teachers and staff members of Central Visual & Performing Arts High School talk at the front entrance and prepare to leave following a shooting on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022 at Kingshighway and Arsenal Street. A teacher, student and the suspected shooter were killed in the morning attack. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com

Police block off the streets around the Central Visual & Performing Arts High School as they investigate the area after a shooting inside the school in south St. Louis on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com

Teacher Octavio Nieto-Jacobo consoles fellow teacher Debbi Cox outside the Central Visual & Performing Arts High School in south St. Louis on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022. The teachers and staff returned to the school to pick up personal items like car keys, jackets, and computers. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com

Police gather outside the Central Visual & Performing Arts High School after a shooting inside south St. Louis on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com

Police block off the streets around the Central Visual & Performing Arts High School as they investigate the area after a shooting inside the school in south St. Louis on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com

Marie Crane, 24, holds a candle during a vigil in Tower Grove Park for the victims of the school shooting at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in St. Louis on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022. "It's tragic. I just wanted to be with the community and grieve," said Crane, who lives a few block from the school. Several hundred people attended the vigil.Â

Rep. Cori Bush addresses the crowd during a vigil in Tower Grove Park for the victims of the school shooting at Central Visual & Performing Arts High School in St. Louis on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com

Cody Badgwell (second from right) and Yolanda Sulton (right) stand to the side in a pavilion before a vigil at Tower Grove Park as Mayor Tishaura Jones holds a press conference about the shooting Central Visual & Performing Arts High School in St. Louis on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022. Several hundred people attended the vigil. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com

Kevin Montes and Natalia Serra listen as speakers address the crowd during a vigil in Tower Grove Park for the victims of the school shooting at Central Visual & Performing Arts High School in St. Louis on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022. They live about 100 yards away from the school. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com