Valdez High School observes Red Ribbon Week
Valdez #Valdez
Jose A. Valdez High School observed Red Ribbon Week by educating and encouraging the students to live a drug free life.
Students listened to presentations from various community partners including County Judge Tano Tijerina, U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Marina Moreno representing Mike’s Purpose, SCAN and the Laredo Police Department. The annual culminating event consisted of a rally against drugs.
“Be Drug Free” festivities included a lively parade around Jarvis Plaza for a Red Ribbon red balloon release. The students wrote kindness notes on red paper and others wrote something they held dear to their heart that they wanted to release.
Principal Lizzy Newsome and Tijerina spoke to the students and encouraged them to continue on the right path and be drug free. The students listened intently and carried signs of overdose awareness in honor of Mike’s Purpose, a local organization led by Mike’s Mother, Marina Moreno, who works to save lives by raising overdose awareness in honor of her late son.
The Martin High School drumline participated in the parade and hyped up the crowd as Tijerina and Newsome led the parade. Laredo police and Border Patrol units led the parade line as students, faculty, staff and community members marched from the school to the St. Peter’s Plaza and around the four corners while holding up anti-drug signs, drug free life posters and red helium balloons that were released in the air at the end of the ceremony.
Valdez High School currently serves 65 students, but the number increases throughout the year as students are referred. The school is located in downtown Laredo and serves as a haven for high school students who are at risk of dropping out of school due to various reasons. The school has a partnership with SCAN and has several programs that serve as credit recovery, substance abuse recovery, or drop out recovery. Valdez High School is a non-traditional school that gives at-risk students an opportunity to graduate and earn their high school diploma.