CANYON SCHOOL DISTRICT TRIES TO SAVE DARE

Some Studies Question Program's Effectiveness

Canyon schools are set to lose the DARE program, but despite studies
questioning the drug education program's effectiveness, the district is
trying to save it.

Costs of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program are split between the
school district and the Randall County Sheriff's office. Due to sheriff
department budget cuts, the DARE officer will be reassigned.

The CISD Education Foundation is looking into providing funds for another
officer through community donations.

DARE puts local law enforcement officers into the classroom to teach 17 drug
resistance lessons to fifth-graders and make classroom visits to younger
students.

A study printed in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology said
DARE participants were no less likely to experiment with drugs as
20-year-olds than those without DARE classes.

The DARE program plans to start a new curriculum by 2006. Announced earlier
this month, the revised curriculum is designed for middle school students,
rather than elementary children, and will be reinforced by a new ninth-grade
unit.

Students will spend more time in group discussions and problem-solving
activities. DARE officers will act more as coaches, encouraging students to
challenge social norms on their own.

Highland Park, Bushland, and Amarillo ISDs have chosen to teach drug
prevention in other ways.

But Canyon isn't ready to bail out of the DARE program, and Director of
Elementary Programs Judy Babcock said it will stick with the program if the
money can be found.

"We're not looking for anything to replace the DARE program," she said. "If
we can have it, we think it is a good program for us."

Babcock said the quality of the program is a direct result of the quality of
the officers who participate, and changing the program could mean not having
that positive law enforcement presence.

The district conducts a survey on the program every two years, but with so
many factors influencing students, it's hard to tell if DARE has reduced
drug use, Babcock said.

"At this point, we're trying to keep it," she said.

Highland Park ISD pulled out of DARE this year because costs were getting
too high, said Superintendent Jerry Wright.

Highland Park and River Road were sharing the costs of the Potter County
sheriff's deputy, who spent two days a week at Highland Park.

"We couldn't justify the expenses of it," Wright said.

The program was funded through grants, but over time more of the financial
burden shifted to the district, resulting in about $40,000 a year.

Wright said one of the highest costs was the officer's salary, which was
split between the two schools and the sheriff's office. An experienced
officer draws a higher salary, which is passed on to the schools.

Highland Park addresses drug abuse education through the classroom teachers
and is examining ways to utilize the new district police officer for
DARE-similar training.

"Don't think because we don't have the official DARE program doesn't mean
we're not doing a lot of the programs' ideas, because we are," Wright said.

River Road continued the DARE program, picking up Highland Park's share of
the costs.

Rolling Hills Elementary Principal Gerald Brewer said the increased costs
were worth it because the program is effective.

Brewer said what students learn through DARE is something schools can't
ignore.

"Give them some ways to say no, to stay out of it," he said. "Give them some
things to use to help turn them around and keep them from ever getting into
it," he said.

While there are no long-term studies of the effectiveness of the program
with River Road students, Brewer said it has helped.

"Like any other program, it's not going to work unless we have cooperation
from home," he said.

Amarillo ISD participates in the federally-funded Safe and Drug-Free Schools
program, and has police serve as school liaison officers.

Prevention specialist Carol Allen said the district has never participated
in DARE, and instead chooses drug education programs based on individual
campus needs.