CENTRAL SCHOOL STUDENTS LEARN DANGERS OF DRUGS

Standing before a class of fifth graders Tuesday at Central School,
Detective Sgt. Zate McGee told students what they could expect for
the next several weeks. "We're going to talk a lot about drugs and
alcohol and abuse of those things," McGee said. Over the next 10
weeks, she will be visiting four fifth grade classrooms at Central to
teach the Drug Abuse Resistance Education Program, commonly known as D.A.R.E..

"This semester, I have 264 students at Central," McGee said. Next
semester, D.A.R.E. will come to Oak Hill Academy and other fifth
grade classes at Central.

According to the D.A.R.E. Web site, the program began in 1983 in Los
Angeles and has since been implemented in 75 percent of the nation's
school districts. Police officers like McGee lead a series of
classroom lessons designed to help children resist peer pressure and
lead drug-free lives.

McGee laid out the rules of D.A.R.E. to her first class of fifth
graders Tuesday Morning - including being positive and respectful.

"A large part of it (on the first day) is to get them to know me,"
she said, explaining that children may associate police officers with
negative events and may be afraid of them.

Addressing the kids, she said, "I don't want you to be intimidated by
me because I wear a uniform."

Latrenda Fenton, the class's teacher, added, " them seeing a police
officer, it makes them more comfortable being around them and
understand they are here to help them."

Through the program, Fenton said, she hopes her students gain "more
awareness to the effects of drugs and alcohol and how being drug free
can help them achieve and be successful because they will be able to
have a clear mind and a healthy body."

McGee asked the students if they could define the words that comprise
the D.A.R.E. acronym. She explained that a drug "is any substance
that causes the body to act differently other than food" and that
abuse "means the misuse of something."

Hearing several definitions of resistance, she suggested, "how about
just saying no?" By asking for a show of hands, she found most
students in the class had heard the phrase "just say no."

"There's more to it, a lot more," she said. "I'm going to teach you
how to say no." In saying no, she added, "I've got to convince that
person that I'm not going to do that and I'm going to do the right thing."

At the end of every session, McGee said, the children would have a
chance to have their questions answered. They can write any question
they like and submit it anonymously to the D.A.R.E. box in their classroom.

Throughout the program, the classes will participate in a variety of
activities. For example, they will play in skits about peer pressure
and use goggles to simulate the effects of drunk driving.

When the 10 weeks has ended, the students will have a graduation.
Each student will receive a certificate and medallion while some will
be recognized as winners of an essay and drawing contest.

McGee said the students that began the program this week should
probably graduate before Christmas.