PIONEER STUDENTS GRADUATE D.A.R.E.

Drugs and kids. It's a reality every parent must face--head-on. You
can't deny it. You can't ignore it. But as parents or other concerned
caregivers, you are your children's greatest resource.

School Resource Officer Constable Harold Smits facilitates the
D.A.R.E. program in Rocky and has just finished with a Grade 6 class
at Pioneer Middle School. Over the course of 10 lessons, Smits has
educated his students about drugs, tobacco, bullying, peer pressure,
and alcohol through skits, worksheets, and journal entries. During
Lesson 10, the students are given the opportunity to make a public
statement about their choices to resist drugs and violence in a group
setting.

During the students' public statements the kids had things to say
like: "The skills I have learned here will help me for the rest of my
life," and "This program helps kids like me make good choices, I will
live a drug and violence-free life." "If you use drugs you will waste
your whole life away" was another statement made by the sixth graders,
and "My plan is to stay drug, alcohol, and tobacco free, and to get my
Grandma to quit smoking too."

This year millions of schoolchildren around the world will benefit
from D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), the highly acclaimed
program that gives kids the skills they need to avoid involvement in
drugs, gangs, and violence. D.A.R.E. was founded in 1983 in Los
Angeles and has proven so successful that it is now being implemented
in 75 per cent of our nation's school districts and in more than 43
countries around the world.

D.A.R.E. is a police officer-led series of classroom lessons that
teaches children from kindergarten through Grade 12 how to resist peer
pressure and live productive drug and violence-free lives. Prior to
entering the D.A.R.E. program, carefully selected officers undergo 80
hours of intensive training in areas such as child development,
classroom management, teaching techniques, and communication skills.
Additional training is provided to experienced D.A.R.E. instructors to
equip them to teach the middle and high school curriculum.

The D.A.R.E. curriculum includes the K-4 Visitation Program, the
Elementary (Grade 5/6) curriculum, the Middle School curriculum (Grade
7/8), the High School curriculum (Grade 9/10) and the Parent Program.
The program initially focused on elementary school children, but has
been expanded to include middle and high school students.

Gone is the old-style approach to prevention in which an officer
stands behind a podium and lectures students. New D.A.R.E. officers
are trained as "coaches" to support kids who are using research-based
refusal strategies in high-stakes peer-pressure environments.

D.A.R.E.'s primary mission is to provide children with the information
and skills they need to live drug-and-violence-free lives.

The mission is to equip kids with the tools that will enable them to
avoid negative influences and instead, allow them to focus on their
strengths and potential. And, that's exactly what D.A.R.E. is designed
to do.

Additionally, it establishes positive relationships between students
and law enforcement, teachers, parents, and other community leaders.
Every youngster should have the opportunity to grow up healthy, safe,
secure, and equipped with the skills needed to succeed in life. Life,
however, is rampant with challenges that could keep children from a
positive life path.

The primary goal of D.A.R.E. is the prevention of substance abuse and
violence among schoolchildren. D.A.R.E. accomplishes this goal by:
Providing students with accurate information about alcohol and drugs,
teaching students how to say "no" to drugs while providing
alternatives to drug use, teaching students decision-making skills and
the consequences of their behavior, providing life-skills to resist
peer pressure and high-risk behavior

D.A.R.E. goes far beyond traditional drug abuse programs that
emphasize drug identification and the harmful effects of drugs and
alcohol.

These programs only warn children not to use these substances, not how
to resist the pressures to try them. D.A.R.E. teaches children the
skills they need to recognize and resist the subtle and overt
pressures that may lead them to experiment with drugs and alcohol.

D.A.R.E. students learn about the dangers of drugs and gain
self-confidence by acting out problem situations in a classroom
setting. They are taught to keep their bodies healthy and to control
their feelings when angry or under stress.

Students are also taught how to respond when a friend pressures them
to use alcohol or drugs and to recognize the various forms of
influence from peers, parents, and the media. They learn to choose
positive activities instead of just "hanging out" on the streets.