Superintendent Arntzen Recognizes Red Ribbon Week

• Brian O'Leary
• October 20 2023

HELENA - Superintendent Arntzen encourages all Montanans to “Be Kind to your Mind. Live Drug Free.” during Red Ribbon Week, October 23-31. Red Ribbon Week is an annual youth drug prevention campaign intended to build awareness of drug use and the importance of living a drug-free life.

“My Montana Hope initiative focuses on family and community engagement as a path to student well-being and academic achievement,” said Superintendent Elsie Arntzen. “My office offers many resources for parents and teachers to use when discussing drug, alcohol, and tobacco use with our children. Our children are our most precious resource, so join me as a grandparent, parent, and educator to encourage them to live a drug-free life.”

The Montana Office of Public Instruction’s (OPI) Coordinated School Health Unit offers alcohol and drug prevention and tobacco use prevention resources to families, students, and schools. To assist with the demand for tobacco prevention education OPI hopes to be hiring an additional education specialist soon. Superintendent Arntzen formed a steering committee to vet Song for Charlie to help find viable resources for parents to engage their children on the drug epidemic, specifically the use dangers of illicit fentanyl. The members of the committee are:

• Stacy Zinn – Subject Matter Expert from Billings
• Kim Edinger – Parent Advisor from Billings
• Shane McAfee – Parent Advisor from Belgrade
• Abby Moscatel – Subject Matter Expert & Parent Advisor from Lakeside

“Song for Charlie provides an avenue for opening dialogue between parents and loved ones,” said Stacy Zinn, Retired Resident Agent in Charge, Montana, Drug Enforcement Administration. “Knowledge is power and this program provides information that helps equip families to engage on this important topic.”

“Drug use affects all and does not discriminate. It is taking the lives of our children and decaying our communities, and we are all affected in one way or another,” said Kim Edinger. “As a parent whose life experience includes losing my son to Fentanyl, I found myself with few tangible resources in our education system available to help me as a parent or the youth in our community. Montana needs a program that is current, applicable, and brutally honest when it comes to discussing drug use and promoting abstinence. I feel the resources from Song for Charlie would be extremely beneficial to parents, educators, and students in all stages. I appreciate that Song for Charlie offers real and honest information, and they try to stay informed and current. We owe that to our children.”

Red Ribbon Week began as a way of remembering Drug Enforcement Administration special agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena’s murder by drug traffickers and the overall destruction that drugs cause to American families.