Lake County Gazette

St. Elmo Elementary School is organizing Red Ribbon Week from October 27 to October 31, with themed days focused on drug prevention awareness.

The schedule includes “Kick Off Red Ribbon Week” on Monday, where students are encouraged to wear red. On Tuesday, the theme is “Too Bright for Drugs,” and students can wear neon or bright clothes along with sunglasses outside. Wednesday’s theme is “Team Up Against Drugs,” with students invited to wear their favorite sports team attire. Thursday’s activity, “Soar Like an Eagle Away from Drugs,” asks students to wear St. Elmo shirts or school colors. The week concludes Friday with “Not Scared to say No to drugs,” encouraging orange and black or Halloween shirts.

St. Elmo Community Unit School District 202 covers Fayette and Effingham counties and includes St. Elmo Elementary School, St. Elmo Junior High School, and St. Elmo Senior High School (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/). According to the Illinois State Board of Education, the district employs 31 teachers who earn an average salary of $52,468 before pension contributions; 87.4 percent are women and 12.6 percent are men, with no teacher recording more than 10 absences in a school year (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/). The student body in the district is predominantly White at 96.7 percent, while Black students make up 0.5 percent and Hispanic students comprise 0.9 percent (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/). In 2020, spending per student was $15,878 for a total expenditure of $6,795,848 (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/).

Red Ribbon Week is part of a national effort to promote drug-free lifestyles among young people through educational activities and themed events.