KIDS GRADUATE FROM DRUG EDUCATION CLASS

THURSDAY evening we held our 29th graduation ceremony for fifth-grade
students in Alameda who have completed the Drug Abuse Resistance Education
program.

This highly popular and effective program has been around since 1983. We
brought it to Alameda schools in 1986. There were around 1,000 people
present as 494 students graduated, which brings the total number of Alameda
graduates to more than 14,500. Lots of statistical data could be
unimportant except that it represents a small part of the lives of our
children, and may have a large impact on their future.

Community support for the event was amazing as parents, teachers,
dignitaries and community leaders poured into Alameda High School to show
their support.

Keynote speaker was Susan Manheimer, the San Mateo Police Department chief.
She offered words of encouragement and support for the DARE program with an
inspiring message for our youth.

In case you're not familiar with the DARE program here is some information
to bring you up to date. DARE was created in 1983 in a collaborative effort
by the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Unified School
District to combat drug abuse and violence among school-age children.

It was so successful it was soon expanded and is now taught in more than 80
percent of the U.S. school districts. It's also taught in Department of
Defense schools worldwide and in about 50 other countries around the globe.

The curriculum is developed and updated by LAUSD health-education
specialists along with input from law enforcement and many other
drug-education specialists. DARE is only taught by sworn law enforcement
personnel who have gone through a intensive two-week training class. The
lessons focus on:

Providing accurate information about alcohol and drugs.

Teaching students decision-making skills.

Showing them how to resist peer pressure.

Positive alternatives to drug use and violence.

Along with providing children with information and skills they need to live
drug- and violence-free lives, we are establishing and strengthening
positive relationships between law enforcement, students, teachers, parents
and the community.

DARE is not the silver bullet to drug abuse. It does not inoculate our
children against ever abusing drugs. We only get 15 to 20 hours with them.
We are only part of a team of parents, teachers, police officers and the
community who need to each take there appropriate place in teaching kids to
resist drugs and violence.

Thanks again to all who support our kids through the DARE program!

Officers Gary Self and Jerrold Suth staff the Alameda Police Department's
Community Oriented Policing Preventative Services (COPPS) unit. Their
column appears Fridays. They can be reached at 748-4508, ext. 3305. Check
out the department's Web site at www.ci.alameda.ca.us and click on the
police department option.