D.A.R.E. to make the right decision

Students in Grades 6 and 8 were celebrated on Tuesday for graduating
the first D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program to ever
run at Woodstock Middle School.

The D.A.R.E. graduation ceremony at WMS on Tuesday, May 27, kicked off
with a performance by the program's enthusiastic cheerleaders.

A ceremony was held at the school gymnasium to hand out certificates
and T-shirts to all students who participated in the 10-week program.

Cpl. John Foster of the Woodstock Police Force taught the D.A.R.E.
course. He said the goal is to educate students, so they can make the
right decisions about drug and alcohol use. "We're giving these kids a
solid decision-making model. With the tools we're giving them they can
make wise choices," said Cpl. Foster.

The officer met with each Grade 6 and 8 class once a week from January
to April. He discussed topics like peer pressure, bullying and general
information about drugs and alcohol.

"We give them facts about drugs and alcohol. Our kids today want to
know the truth," said Cpl. Foster.

Answers were not watered-down or hollow, he said, "You can't lie to
them."

Students benefited from his more than 25 years of experience as a
police officer, who had to deal first-hand withv people under the influence.

Grade 8 student and D.A.R.E. graduate Jillian McNally said that was
what made the program work for her.

"I think it was effective because of the stories he told us about
being around people on drugs and how it affected them," said McNally.

Brittany McLaughlin, a fellow D.A.R.E. graduate, added that "We
learned what could actually happen to you if you abuse drugs or alcohol."

Cpl. Foster said the program is interactive with different activities
to keep students interested and engaged.

One activity stuck out in McNally's memory. It was designed to help
students be in charge of their own actions and sift through peer pressure.

Students had to write down what they thought was the average
percentage of kids their age who smoked cigarettes across the country.

"The actual number was surprising," said McNally, who guessed it was
fairly high. "It was pretty low - much lower than I thought."

Cpl. Foster said this exercise "teaches kids that it's OK to say no,
that you're in the majority."

He said many students feel drug and alcohol use amongst their peers is
so high because "kids lie to each other because they think it makes
them cool."

The D.A.R.E. program busts these preconceptions with facts, said Cpl.
Foster.

"When you give them a good education and some good facts then students
are making evidence-based decisions, and they'll make the right choices."

Students performed skits and role-played to help them grasp the
reality of harsh consequences, said Cpl. Foster. He said scenarios are
designed to walk students down the wrong path and the right path and
have them evaluate their decision based on the end result of each.

Cpl. Foster showed students a presentation about crystal meth, which
stated 97 per cent of first-time users and 99 per cent of second-time
users become addicted.

He said it helps students understand that, "there are some mistakes
you make where you don't get a second chance."

D.A.R.E. graduate Emma Smith said role-playing the scenarios made her
feel more confident in her ability to make the right decision.

"Now that I know what actually happens, I would say no if someone
offered me drugs," said Smith.

"I'd tell them to go away."

Cpl. Foster said eventually the D.A.R.E. graduates from middle school
will be mentors for younger students when they are in high school. He
said, because it is the program's first year in Woodstock, it will
take a while to establish a mentor system.

Cpl. Foster attended a rigorous two-week training course at the
Ontario Police College to become a certified D.A.R.E. instructor. He
was taught the program curriculum, wrote an entire lesson-plan for the
program and had to teach classes in the Ontario public school system
as practice.

D.A.R.E. has been running for more than 25 years and is used in
schools across the globe.

It regularly re-evaluates methods, said Cpl. Foster, to keep up with
trends and stay current.

Cpl. Foster told the gymnasium full of D.A.R.E. graduates the city
spent around $5,000 training him and about $5,000 more so he could
attend the middle school classes once a week.

"A lot of people would say: 'Where's the return? How do we measure
success?'" he said.

"But the bottom line is, if one kid makes a good choice as opposed to
a bad choice then it's worth it all."