United ISD’s Tenth Middle School Commemorates Mr. Raul Perales
Written by admin, Dec 1, 2017, Comments Off
Courtesy Rocio Moore,
(Laredo, Texas)-During a Regular Board Meeting held on November 15, 2017, the United ISD Board of Trustees granted final approval to name the District’s tenth middle school after the late Raul Perales. Following his graduation from St. Joseph’s Academy in 1960, Perales joined the U.S. Navy to serve on the USS Randolph, which was instrumental in NASA recovery efforts for two Project Mercury space missions, including astronaut John Glenn’s first orbital flight. In the late 80’s, he became acquainted with Fasken Oil and Ranch, and soon became their Land and Development Manager for the Laredo area. He also volunteered much of his free time to help local civic and charitable organizations.
As an advocate for public education, Perales served as a United ISD Board Member from 1981 to 1984, during which time he ascended to the position of Board Vice-President in 1983. His dedication at the local level compelled State leaders to ask him to travel to Austin and Washington to address the unique challenges facing his beloved border community. Raul Perales Middle School is scheduled to open in time for the 2018-2019 school year. The campus is located at 410 E.G. Ranch Road off Hwy. 359, and its color scheme is red, white and blue. The school icon (mascot), is the Oilers.
