CORNELIUS – Students, teachers and staff at Bailey Middle School are grieving the sudden loss of a seventh-grade science teacher.

Mark DeSarro, 53, died at his Charlotte home Saturday, Feb. 25, in his sleep, said friend and Bailey Middle in-school suspension teacher Kevin Harper. The cause of death is currently unknown.

“…He was a good friend to all of us here at Bailey and the community,” Harper said.

In an email to parents sent Sunday, Feb. 26, Bailey Middle principal Jennifer Dean asked parents to share the news with their children and to help them deal with the grieving process. During the following week, the school provided additional grief counselors to help students cope.

“We are extremely saddened by this news and wanted to keep families informed about this incident and support measures that have been put in place to help our students,” Dean said in the email.

A school memorial service will be held at the school sometime after his funeral service Saturday, March 3, in Ohio.