D.A.R.E. PROGRAM PHASED OUT LOCALLY

Go to any school lunchroom, mall or playground in America, and you're
likely to see the T-shirt: "D.A.R.E."To Resist Drugs and Violence." Drug
Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) has become a common experience, an
educational rite of passage, for a generation of American kids. Lauded for
its efforts to steer kids on the brink of adolescence away from trouble,
D.A.R.E. was honored this past spring by President George W. Bush, who
declared April 12 "National D.A.R.E. Day."

But, despite its presidential endorsement, D.A.R.E., which puts law
enforcement officers into fifth-grade classrooms to lead drug and violence
prevention activities, is on the way out in Spartanburg County schools --
the result of questions by funding providers about the program's success
coupled with the expansion of similar school-based strategies.

Sheriff's Lt. Ron Gahagan confirmed that Spartanburg County school
districts partnering with the Sheriff's Office have chosen not to re-sign
D.A.R.E. contracts. District 7, which worked with the City of Spartanburg
Public Safety Department, has cut the program, as well.

The effectiveness nationwide of D.A.R.E. as a drug abuse prevention
strategy long has been challenged by critics, and the federal government's
support for the program has waned in the past two years.

A federal grant called "Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities"
provides funding to districts across the nation for the purpose of drug
abuse and crime prevention. Before last school year, local districts got
the word the grants were not to be used for D.A.R.E., according to Calvin
Jackson, Deputy Superintendent of the State Department of Education.

Jackson said that since President Bush's inauguration, the federal
government has backed off its refusal to fund D.A.R.E. But federal support
remains in limbo, he said.

Dissatisfaction with the program was not cited by local school officials.
Funding decisions, however, did lead some to dump D.A.R.E.

Brenda Story, coordinator of student services for District 7, said local
dollars funded D.A.R.E. last year, but budget cuts hit the program this
time around. So the district will use its "Safe and Drug Free" money, along
with other grants, to beef up other programs.

Story, who says she was a fan of D.A.R.E., is working with the Public
Safety Department to develop a classroom strategy called "KOOL" -- Kids and
Officers Observing Life. Public Safety officers will talk with sixth
graders about conflict resolution, decision-making, peer pressure and the law.

Another program used in District 7 and other districts is the Second Steps
Violence Prevention Program, which teaches kids in grades K-4 study skills,
character development, conflict resolution and drug prevention strategies.

Second Steps is seen by some school officials as a good alternative to D.A.R.E.

"I think it's a more comprehensive program," said Ed Simpson, assistant
superintendent for personnel and pupil services in District 3, where
youngsters will also take part in Second Steps.

Meanwhile, the school resource officer program continues to grow. The
Sheriff's Office has deputies working in each district in the county. The
officers perform a wide range of functions at schools where they work, from
charging students with crime to mediating conflicts among students to
teaching lessons on the dangers of drugs.

Most of the county's school resource officers are trained to teach D.A.R.E.
lessons. That experience will be put to use in programs like Second Steps.

All of which seems to indicate that even as D.A.R.E. -- the nation's single
most visible partnership between schools and law enforcement -- is on the
way out locally, cops will be as active in schools as ever. And it appears
that federal and state grants, as well as money from private foundations,
will see to it that public schools and law enforcement remain closely linked.

And that's a good thing, say officials on both sides.

"We think the presence of law enforcement gives kids a positive feeling,"
said Joyce Lipscomb, operations analyst with the Spartanburg Public Safety
Department. "It's good for youngsters to have a positive experience with
officers at an early age."

Story made her appreciation for the role local law enforcement plays with
her students clear: "The Public Safety Department is our very best
partner," she said.