How to Create an EPIC Red Ribbon Week

My future is key so I'm staying drug-free!

For those of you who don't know, Red Ribbon Week is an awareness campaign used to disseminate information about the dangers of drug use and bullying. The event was originally created in 1988 as remembrance of DEA Agent Enrique Camarena. As a sign of support, people all over the U.S. began wearing red ribbons to make a stand against drugs and related crime.

As school counselor's this program is a hallmark of any school year. Often, it is seen as the kick-off for the year of comprehensive school counseling programming. As an intern, I was extremely excited that my site supervisor trusted me with such a large and important event. I learned things that work, and some stuff that didn't. In an effort to help other counselors planning their first Red Ribbon Week, I came up with a few tips to assist!

1. Make sure to send home an announcement letter of the Red Ribbon Week activities and purpose.

Being at an elementary school, you will want to notify parents before you start speaking to their children about the danger of drugs. Nothing makes a mom go mama bear like circumnavigating their wishes and discussing sensitive topics without their knowledge. The announcement letter should include the following information: dates of campaign, purpose of the event, and a list of the spirit day wear (if you plan to do that). I would suggest sending out letters 1-2 weeks before the event. If you do it before then you run the risk of families forgetting, and if you do it after that, you run the risk of parents feeling unprepared. Plan early!

2. Engage parents through social media like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

The Friday before the event started I created a reminder post about the designated spirit days to make sure there was as much student participation as possible. Parents are human and they do forget, a quick reminder can go a long way.

Throughout the week, be sure to post important facts and encourage parents to open discussion at home about drugs and their negative side effects. Children whose parents talk to them regularly about drugs are 42% less likely to use drugs than children whose parents avoid the subject! I'd say that's pretty significant. I also suggest posting a parent pledge so parents can let their children know their commitment to a drug-free lifestyle and why.

Keep in mind that not all school counseling departments man their own social media accounts. If that is the case, I would suggest coordinating with that faculty member beforehand and sending a scheduled list of what goes out and when. The principal at my school ran it and preferred me sending it the day before it was to be posted.

3. USE SPIRIT DAYS! I DO NOT CARE WHAT THE RANTING PARENTS ON FACEBOOK HAVE TO SAY ABOUT IT!

At the elementary age, many students do not understand the weight of the pledges they are making. Spirit days are a way for children to really participate in the activities and make them their own. Here are some suggestions for fantastic, yet practical spirit days:

"Too Bright for Drugs!"- Wear your brightest neon clothes!

"Lei off Drugs!"- Wear a lei and/or your favorite Hawaiin shirt!

"Red-y to be Drug Free!"- Wear red as you sign your pledge to be drug-free!

"Sock it to Drugs!"- Wear your craziest pair of socks!

"Pawsitively Proud to be Drug-Free!"- Wear your school shirt or school colors to show Burbank Bulldog pride!

As you can see from the list, I kept the items practical to things that should be in any child's closet. If parents are forced to purchase new outfits for their kids everyday to participate, you will be the subject of a viral Facebook Live rant. I promise.

4. Use school resources and organizations available at your school.

In an effort to disseminate important information and reminders to students each day, I decided to use the BNN broadcast that is streamed live to every classroom in the building. Instead of having the typical weekly anchors read the announcements, or...myself (cameras make me nervous), I chose to have Safety Patrol members read the announcements. I chose these students for 2 reasons: 1.) They are extremely responsible, and have upstanding disciplinary records. 2.) They always arrive to school early for duty. This would ensure that I wasn't stuck reading them at the last moment! My camera fright is so real, guys.

I would suggest pulling the students a week before announcements begin to give them their scripts so they can memorize them. It always looks better when they do not have to stare down at a crumpled piece of paper as they present. I would also suggest making multiple copies of these scripts. My students lost them SEVERAL times. One student, lost theirs four times and the morning of requested another copy! Be prepared, these kids can lose a sheet of paper quicker than it takes to print the bad boys.

5. If you can manage it, include as much teacher participation as possible!

Once you have a program proposal in place, notify all staff of the plan. If possible, present your ideas at a faculty or staff meeting to ensure comprehension for all parties involved. I asked all teachers to present to their students a presentation I had made regarding their pledge, and then have all students sign their pledges. Teachers were also instructed to take those pledges and post them on the Pledge Walls located in the Cafeteria. Some of them followed directions....others did not. I sent out notices view mailbox and by email. My only other suggestion is speaking with teachers face-to-face to ensure they follow your vision and plan.

At some schools, teachers are even open to using lesson plans created by the Red Ribbon Week Organization to standard blend SOL's and ASCA's Student Mindsets and Behavior objectives. If you have core and elective teachers willing to go this extra mile- do it. Help them! #goals.

Also, use the month of October to create and present drug and bullying awareness guidance lessons. It's hard to shove everything into one week- so don't! Most elementary schools do monthly classroom guidance rotations. If that's the case, go ahead and create an engaging and developmentally appropriate guidance lesson for each grade.

6. Be creative and resourceful with decorations for the event!

All my site supervisor had to offer me was hundreds of feet of red ribbon. HUNDREDS. While I knew it was possible to make tiny little red ribbons for each student to wear, I also knew they would lose this on day 1 and the rest of the week I'd spend running around replacing them. So instead I decided to use the ribbon to create ribbon art with the word DRUG FREE on the chain link fence located by parent pick up.

Use word and publisher to create fun posters and have them laminated and posted outside. Rather quickly I learned that nothing sticks to brick. NOTHING. So plan accordingly.

Host a poster contest so students are learning and creating the decorations for the event. Students are usually all too excited to create materials that the whole school will see- USE IT! They won't always be excited about participating in school-wide programming. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Have teachers participate in a door decoration contest. Speak with the principal or PTA about donating a reward to make it worth their time. Pintrest literally has thousands of ideas. Let them have fun with it!

I hope my post helps some struggling new counselors out there, or at least provides a jumping off point! I'll be sure to post again soon! :)

References

Red Ribbon Week (2017). Retrieved from <http://redribbon.org/>