CEDAR HILL, Texas — Dozens of people showed up to Thursday’s balloon release for a Highlands Elementary School student, who choked on a piece of food and died last week.
Cedar Hill Independent School District (CHISD) identified the student as Mireya and encouraged the district to wear rainbow colors to school Thursday.
In a statement, CHISD Supt. Dr. Gerald Hudson said, “Every color of the rainbow was her favorite.”
The family of the 4-year-old briefly addressed the community and thanked them for their support in Spanish Thursday afternoon.
The school dedicated a bench to Mireya before releasing balloons.
"I came because I have grandbabies, and so if it would've been by grandbabies, I'd want somebody to come and show support," said Cedar Hill ISD employee Natoshia Culpepper.
In a statement, Hudson said:
“I can share with confidence that our CHISD Athletic Department provides annual CPR training to campus staff including PE teachers, health clinical staff, special education bus drivers, athletic coaches, band, cheer and dance staff. In addition, campus supervising nurses, clinic aides and cafeteria managers are all trained in both CPR and the Heimlich maneuver (now called abdominal thrusts). But we will do more.”