D.A.R.E. BRINGS MENTORING TO CLASSROOM

If someone thinks you're cool only because you're doing drugs and
alcohol, maybe you shouldn't be hanging around with them anyway.

These words of wisdom come from 15-year-old Kevin Heir, who is a
member of Laramie Choice, a group of Laramie High School students
who have chosen to remain drug, alcohol and tobacco free throughout
their high school days.

"It's not always that you shouldn't do (drugs and alcohol) because
it'll get you in trouble," Heir said. "It truly doesn't help you to
do stuff like that."

Heir and four of his Laramie Choice student colleges visited
Sherilyn Berube's sixth grade class at Spring Creek Elementary last
Tuesday to share why they are substance free with Berube's 12
pre-teen students preparing for junior high. The five high schoolers
took part in the mentoring portion of the sixth-graders' D.A.R.E.
course through the Albany County School District and the Laramie
Police Department.

"We educate about the importance of the decision-making process and
how that is going to affect people's lives," D.A.R.E. Instructor and
LPD High-Risk Youth Officer Erica Rich said. "(D.A.R.E.) is purely
educational and very separate from enforcement. I am uniformed, but
students can feel free to trust (me) and build that bond beyond an
enforcement-type relationship."

There are three high-risk youth officers who regularly spend time
Albany County schools; Rich, who teaches D.A.R.E., and Officers Al
Rich and Ryan Gerdes, who routinely visit schools in uniform as
security officers.

"I am able to build relationships and bond with these children who
may or may not ever have any interaction with police," Erica Rich
said. "The more interaction we can have with students on a positive
level to be reinforcing that we are here to protect and serve, the better."

According to Erica Rich, after the rash of school shootings earlier
this year, school safety has been a huge concern for parents, school
staff and the LPD. Parents want to know what is going on in schools
to protect their children, Rich said, and they want to know that
enough is being done.

"We are constantly bringing in new information and training on these
types of issues, so we are able to respond well and quickly," Erica
Rich said. "I think parents should feel comfortable with their kids
being in school."

Nearing the last stages of the 15-week curriculum with the
sixth-graders, Erica Rich decided to bring in representatives from
Laramie Choice to speak to her students about their own experiences
with substance abuse.

As the high schoolers walked into the classroom, a hush fell over
the sixth-graders.

"We could look like that one day," one student's comment rose above
the whispers.

Timidly, the students began asking the high schoolers about their
experiences with drugs and alcohol, asking if they'd ever tried any
illegal substances, if their friends try to pressure them into using
and when they had last been around alcohol or drugs.

"For illegal drugs well, they're all illegal to me," 16-year-old
Jordan Bishop added, before continuing, "You really have to choose
to be around those. Alcohol is much more common. And I've seen my
friends get into drinking and it really tears you down."

Jarek Buss, a 15-year-old student who enjoys fencing, told the rapt
sixth graders that substance abuse would take "your money, your time
and your health. Three things you can't afford to lose in high school."

Making that initial decision to say no is the hardest part,
18-year-old Mallory Dvorak said, remembering the first time she was
offered alcohol.

"My heart was beating I was with older kids," Dvorak remembered. "I
just overcame one of my biggest fears  it was scary but it was a
really big honor."

Understanding that decision-making process, the importance of the
decisions people make daily, is a big focus in D.A.R.E., Erica Rich said.

"They control their own decisions," Erica Rich said. "We introduce
the concept of being confident in their decisions. We talk about the
belief that all kids are trying these things, when really, it is the
exact opposite. The main point is that the more you know,
the better decision you are going to make.

"Whether or not I can tell if D.A.R.E. is going to work, I will
never know that. We will never know what makes people make the right
decisions," Erica Rich said. "We don't know what is in (these kids')
lives. Our efforts are meant to be protecting, preparing and
educating these children."