DARE PROGRAM BENEFICIAL IN FIGHT AGAINST DRUG USE

This letter is in response to The Republican news article titled:
"Wilbraham's DARE under board scrutiny." (Sept. 19).

I have been a resident of Wilbraham since I was born. I attended
Minnechaug Regional High School and graduated in 2000. During the
course of my education at the elementary and high school levels, I
was exposed to various Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE)
programs and classroom education. Dennis LaPlante was my DARE
officer. Through his teachings, lectures, and classroom exercises, I
began to develop a friendship with him and viewed him as a role-model.

I became a strong proponent (and continue to be) of DARE. I realized
it was important to have an officer in the classroom talking about
drug and alcohol abuse, intervention and prevention methods and
violence prevention techniques. I am convinced that DARE had a direct
impact on my lifestyle; it influenced my decision-making process,
offered valuable solutions to problems and equipped me with the right
"life-tools" to handle tough situations.

DARE provides young people with information, tools and techniques to
assist them with making healthy lifestyle choices. The curriculum is
constantly updated, refined and evaluated; it has evolved
tremendously so as to address difficult contemporary issues that
young people encounter. It is a good system.

Opponents of the program continuously argue that there appears to be
no statistical data that substantiates its effectiveness.

In response, I raise the questions: What else is available? What
other classroom-based curriculum is capable of confronting the issues DARE has?

Instead of throwing this system away, Wilbraham and other communities
should continue to refine DARE, continue to invest in its purpose and
remain cognizant of the millions of young people who abstain from
drug abuse and violence.

Jason Christofori

Wilbraham