DARE VANISHING FROM SCHOOL CURRICULUM

Rutland Latest To Cancel Program

The DARE program taught to Central Tree Middle School fifth graders
has been cancelled, leaving only one school in the district still
offering ithe curriculum.

Principal Judy Evans said a lack of funding was not the reason for the
decision.

"My decision was based on needing the time for academics" set by the
Massachusetts Frameworks, she said. Evans noted that a health
curriculum is taught to all the middle school students, not just the
DARE program's fifth graders, and part of that curriculum covers
substance abuse.

The original DARE program ran for 17 weeks, once a week, an hour per
class. The program was recently revised, cutting the number of weeks
down to 10.

It's been taught at the school for more than 10 years.

Evans said the lack of studies proving the Drug Abuse Resistance
Education program's effectiveness in keeping youngsters away from
drugs and alcohol -- a nationwide criticism of the program -- was
another reason.

"If I thought it had a tremendous effect, I would fight to keep it,"
she said.

The decision was a difficult one, Evans said, as the elimination of
the DARE program dampens the connection between the students, Sgt.
Ronald Friberg, the DARE and juvenile officer at the school, and the
Rutland Police Department. Friberg taught DARE at the school for the
last six years.

In the last several years, DARE programs across the state and the
Wachusett region were eliminated due to the ongoing fiscal crisis at
the state level. The Rutland DARE program in previous years received
about $6,000 in state funding, in addition to about $2,000 in private
supplemental money.

State funding stopped in fiscal year 2002. However, private residents
and businesses stepped up, contributing about $6,000 each year to keep
the Rutland program alive and also fund the annual DARE graduation and
program "extras."

For three consecutive years, the Grand Slam Cafe and C&S Builders of
Rutland, owned by Len Gengel, were the top contributors to the
program. Gengel also paid for the town's DARE students to attend
Pawtucket Red Sox games.

"We're disappointed for the children of Rutland," said Gengel. "We
think it was a successful program in Rutland, but we will honor
Principal Evans's decision."

In an interview in April, Rutland Police Chief Joseph Baril Jr.
questioned whether funding for the DARE program would be available, as
homeland security and community-policing programs continue to take
precedence.

There was enough money to get this year's core DARE program started,
but the "extras" and graduation would have had to come through private
donations.

"It's not my decision. It's the school's decision," said Friberg when
asked his thoughts about the program being cancelled. "I believe in
the program and I'm saddened that it's not going to be taught anymore.

"It's not my call whether [DARE] is working in Worcester or Boston
only if it's working in Rutland. I believe it was."

DARE not only teaches students about the dangers of alcohol, drugs and
cigarettes, but also about self-esteem, handling pressure, the
consequences of actions, solving disagreements without violence, and
developing a positive relationship with the police department and with
the surrounding community.

"There are so many other factors involved with it," Friberg
said.

Friberg hopes the program will be reinstated at some point. Donations
will be set aside for future programming, he said.

The Mountview Middle School in Holden is the only school in the
Wachusett Regional School District that still teaches the DARE
program, said Paul Soojian, director of operations for the school
district. The decision to offer DARE is left to individual school
principals, he said.

Although the DARE program has all but vanished from the Wachusett
region, police liaisons continue to fill "the gap" between schools and
police departments, he said.