Index for the D.A.R.E. FAILING OUR KIDS series:

Sun, 27 Feb 2000:

D.A.R.E. Doesn't Work
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n281/a04.html

DARE Wary Of Outside Reviews
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n281/a02.html

Some Schools Opt Out Of Program
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n282/a04.html

Officers Become School Favorites
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n281/a06.html

Officers Hope To Make A Difference
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n292/a02.html

Analysis Tracks Students' Drug Use
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n292/a03.html

Mon, 28 Feb 2000:

DARE's Clout Smothers Other Drug Programs
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n292/a04.html

Raves Thrive As Teen Drug Havens
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n293/a04.html

Parents Struggle When Discussing Drugs With Teens
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n292/a05.html

Tips For Parents
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n293/a03.html

Parents' Anti-Drug Resource Guide [many website links]
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n293/a02.html

Tue, 29 Feb 2000:

Editorial: Drugs: Dare to be Honest
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n293/a05.html

Readers: Cops Key to DARE Success, Failure
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n293/a06.html

SOME SCHOOLS OPT OUT OF PROGRAM

Several Districts Say They Can't Justify The Time Or Money

BLOOMFIELD HILLS -- It seems simple enough: If it doesn't work, why waste precious time teaching it?

That's the attitude of the Metro Detroit school districts that forgo weeks of anti-drug lessons by declining to participate in DARE, the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program.

"The research overwhelmingly points to the fact that it doesn't have any effect on long-term prevention," said Bloomfield Hills Superintendent Gary Doyle. "Most of the studies demonstrate that it doesn't have any effect. Period."

Doyle leaves the decision of DARE training up to each individual school in the district. Although two elementary schools still teach the program, Doyle said he lets his administrators know his opinion of it.

In fact, he said it was his opinion that led to West Hills Middle School 's decision to pull out of DARE last year.

"I personally think the program is a waste of time," Doyle said. "They bring the police officer in, he tells them the law, he tells them drugs are bad, don't do them. But it just doesn't work that way. Drug prevention is much more complex."

Several other Metro Detroit districts also have pulled out of DARE after many years.

Oxford Area Community Schools, for instance, taught DARE for a number of years, but dropped it this year.

Time constraints and duplication of material from other courses were among the deciding factors.

"The curriculum itself offers a lot of information covered in health and physical education," said information coordinator Edie Paradowski.

Harper Woods was one of Michigan's first DARE districts, during the 1980s, according to Police Chief Larry Semple.

But he decided to eliminate the program in 1996 because the department didn't have enough manpower to cover essential police work, such as traffic enforcement and criminal investigation, to justify the amount of time the program required.

Besides, Semple said there's no hard data to support whether DARE works.

"It's a feel-good program," Semple said. "It's good P.R. to get police interacting with the children. But there's no hard data to support its long-term effect on keeping kids off drugs and alcohol."