REVAMPED D.A.R.E. PROGRAM IN 11 PLATTE COUNTY SCHOOLS

Editor's note: This is the final in a series about the area D.A.R.E. programs.

COLUMBUS - Anti-drug education has become a staple of classroom education
over the years.

D.A.R.E., or Drug Abuse Resistance Education, has been one of the most
prolific, high-profile programs in the country. It calls for a uniformed
law enforcement officer to go into classrooms periodically and teach
students about drugs and provide them with the decision-making skills
necessary to make positive choices.

However, a D.A.R.E. America study a few years ago found the program was not
meeting the needs of the students, and its effectiveness was brought under
scrutiny.

All area rural and city schools, including the parochial schools, had
included D.A.R.E in their curriculums. After 12 years in the Columbus
Public Schools, officials there dropped the program in the 2001-02 school year.

Platte County Sheriff's Deputy Tom Brandl still travels to 11 schools in
Platte County to teach D.A.R.E. to fifth- and sixth-graders. Columbus
Police Officer Gilbert Maschmeier facilitates the program in the city
parochial schools.

Maschmeier said D.A.R.E. had originally espoused a "stand-and-deliver"
approach that was more akin to a lecture series of more than 15 sessions.

A review found that this method wasn't reaching the children as it was
intended. As a result, Maschmeier said, police departments across the
country were dropping the program, no longer setting aside officers for
training and teaching it in the schools.

However, Maschmeier said, the program was revamped about five years ago,
with a format that involves fewer sessions that focus on more hands-on
exercises and group discussion.

"The kids do more of the work. They do skits, they do role playing,"
Maschmeier said. "A lot of departments that dropped the program nationally
have brought it back."

Now, students face a 10-lesson curriculum that forces them to think about
not only drugs and alcohol, but friendship foundations and personal action
plans when faced with peer-pressure situations.

Humphrey Principal Russell Flamig said the program is a good complement to
the school's curriculum.

"It's an educational tool for the students on the legalities of alcohol and
drugs, and it's an informational tool for them to understand what's legal
and what's not legal about drugs, and what it can do to you if you don't
stay away from them," Flamig said.

According to CPS Curriculum Director Lynne Swantz, Columbus schools have no
intention of returning to the D.A.R.E. program.

"We replaced the D.A.R.E. program with our own units on drug and alcohol
and violence education in our health curriculum," Swantz said. When the
school district made the decision, "The D.A.R.E. program was receiving a
good deal of negative press in a variety of newspapers, and different
studies indicated the program was not being found to be effective. The
school board felt it was appropriate that we have our own curriculum."

Whereas D.A.R.E. focuses on education at the elementary level, Swantz said
anti-drug education is incorporated into the health curriculum, which is
required every year in elementary school, and one semester in high school.
The classes are taught by a physical education or health teacher.

Brandl and Maschmeier agree that one of the positive elements of D.A.R.E.
is its facilitation by a uniformed officer. By having that officer in the
classroom, a bridge is built between students and law enforcement.

Swantz said "One of the very big issues when this was changed was that we
were not trying to eliminate support from the community in any way."

A list of speakers was developed from the community, and she said there is
also a focus on including parents in the process.

Regardless of the program used, Maschmeier said it is an uphill battle to
keep kids sober.

Brandl and Maschmeier both said they have heard complaints when youths are
arrested for drugs and alcohol, and the effectiveness of drug programs are
questioned.

But Columbus Police Capt. Charles Sherer said the program is not designed
to be foolproof. He describes it as the 20-60-20 rule.

Twenty percent of kids are not going to use drugs and alcohol, Sherer said,
while 20 percent are going to be gung-ho and willing to try anything. It is
the 60 percent in the middle, the ones who are wavering and unsure of what
to do, that the program is trying to reach.