LEE COUNTY DEPUTIES REPLACE DARE

School Drug-Prevention Program Shorter, But Less Costly

When William Carmine of Alva Middle School heard the DARE program was
being discontinued, his concern wasn't for himself, but for future
students.

Active in the program since fifth grade, Carmine, 15, is graduating
from Alva Middle in May and going on to Riverdale High School.

"DARE influences new kids that come to the school," Carmine said.
"Kids need a shoulder to lean on."

Three weeks after the Lee County Sheriff's Office eliminated its drug
education program in schools because of budget constraints, a briefer
- - but what officials hope is just as effective - replacement is on the
way.

Sheriff's Deputies Teaching Students About Responsible Decisions, or
STAR, will be introduced in 19 Lee schools.

It replaces DARE, the Drug Abuse Resistance Education
Program.

"We did not waste any time, with the demise of DARE, to go forward,"
said Lt. Blake Lee, commander of the sheriff's youth services division.

"It made up a large part of our youth safety program, and we were
forced to re-evaluate what we have and make do with the (school
resource officers) we currently have," Lee said.

The well-known DARE program was a casualty of the sheriff's office's
need to trim more than $5.5 million from this year's budget. The
program ended at 25 schools in unincorporated Lee County.

In contrast to the 10-week DARE program, STAR is a one-time, 45-minute
session that will be taught by deputies or school resource officers,
or SROs, based at the schools.

Lee said SROs have been trained in the STAR curriculum, which was
created by deputy Kerry Albermethy, a former DARE instructor at the
sheriff's office with more than 11 years in law enforcement. "He
compiled drug prevention programs from all different areas," Lee said.
"So, we expect it to be fairly effective."

While STAR will only be available to the 19 county schools with
assigned resource officers - compared with 28 schools that offered
DARE - Lee hopes the program eventually will be presented in all
schools that want it.

While he concedes the 45-minute program isn't as comprehensive as
DARE, "at the end of the day, it's all the same information," Lee said.

"What it comes down to is, is it better to have 45 minutes or no
minutes? In the end, it's all about how you present the information to
the individual child."

The new curriculum will be presented as a PowerPoint and video shown
to students followed by a question-and-answer session.

School resource officers received training recently and were
receptive, Lee said.

"When the SRO program began in 1983, the main emphasis was on
education, counseling and law enforcement," Lee said. "Due to school
violence and other issues, that balance has changed to law
enforcement, counseling and education."

Deputies will cover topics such as bullying and alcohol, tobacco and
drug abuse, with a specific focus on prescription-drug abuse, which
has increased among minors.

While experts say drug use in general is down among students, it's
still a cause for concern. One recent example is the arrest of five
students, ages 13 and 14, at Three Oaks Middle School in San Carlos
Park on charges of selling and distributing marijuana in the cafeteria.

Jean Campbell, coordinator of Safe & Drug-Free Schools with the Lee
County district, said despite such episodes, drug use by students has
decreased overall.

"The kids told us in a survey we did that the most reliable source of
information on drug and alcohol education was DARE for middle
schoolers," Campbell said. "For high schoolers, it's their parents and
then DARE."

DARE is still offered to fifth-graders in most elementary schools by
Fort Myers and Cape Coral, taught by DARE officers from those
respective police departments.

But Cape Coral went from three DARE officers to two, also because of
recent budget cuts.

"There has definitely been decline in the net numbers," said John
Lindsay, regional director for DARE America. "But interest has stayed
the same with a great number of people attending our DARE officer
training workshops."

As a result of cutbacks, Lindsay said, various counties try to develop
their own imitations with similar curriculums, as Lee is doing.

"I'm understanding of the budget challenges that face the county,"
Lindsay said. "And any effort - anything at all - is better than nothing."

Carmine's grandmother, Joan Mycoff, 67, of Fort Myers
agrees.

"The program gave local kids a place where they can go without
retribution and feel safe," she said.