S.B. SCHOOLS TRY TO FILL DARE VOID

Other Schools In The County Hold On To Anti-Drug Program

St. Jude School Principal Judy Cole remembers her disappointment when the
South Bend Police Department discontinued its anti-drug program for
fifth-graders after the 2002-03 school year.

The Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, otherwise known as DARE,
became a casualty of shifting priorities within the police department.

Cole and others say the absence of DARE has left a noticeable void at both
public and private schools in South Bend.

"They did it beautifully," Cole said recently about the former DARE program
in South Bend.

"I like it as much for the message as for the contact kids get with a
wholesome person with a wholesome message," Cole said.

The national DARE program was pared back in South Bend during the fall of
2002 because of a wave of department departures.

Previously, four uniformed South Bend Police officers delivered DARE
presentations to fifth-graders in 35 public and private schools over a
17-week span.

Eventually it was abandoned completely -- a common trend throughout the
country at the time -- before the start of the 2003-04 school year.

"We were sorry to see it go," said South Bend Community School Corp.
Superintendent Joan Raymond, "but we understood."

Anti-drug education has been absorbed by the fifth-grade curriculum, she said.

A common explanation for the retreat from DARE is that police have had
trouble pointing to hard evidence proving the program's effectiveness.

That's why South Bend police choose to replace DARE with other programs,
according to Gary Horvath, the department's division chief of community
relations.

South Bend police have instead gone the route of school resource officers,
which they say is a more stable program.

Today, seven police officers work in South Bend high schools and
intermediate schools. Their roles are more beneficial to children than DARE
officers who used to spend a few hours a week telling children to say "no"
to drugs, Horvath said.

"They are not security guards," he said. "They have a huge responsibility
for children, faculty and the facility."

Their general presence is a big part of the concept, Raymond said. The
resource officers are expected to be mentors for students as much as they
are law enforcers.

"They're still authority figures, but the name says it all," said South
Bend Police Capt. Phil Trent. "It's 'resource officer,' it's not 'school
security.'

"This describes the fact that they are resources for the students and
parents, too. ... We're doing more, not less."

In previous years, resource officers were limited to the four public high
schools. In April, the department was awarded a $375,000 federal grant to
add three new officers to split time between nine intermediate schools.

In eastern St. Joseph County, though, DARE is still reaching students in
Mishawaka and Penn-Harris-Madison schools. The program in those
corporations is run through the St. Joseph County Police Department.

Cpl. William Redman, who teaches DARE at 11 P-H-M schools, agrees with
Cole. He feels the program should still have a place in South Bend.

"I don't think it's a good idea," Redman said of ending the program.
"People always say even if you save one kid it makes a difference, but I
want to save more than one. I want to save as many as I can."

Redman admits there are no guarantees that a DARE graduate won't use drugs
or alcohol, but the positive influence is still needed.

"We try to be a role model," Redman said. "We want them to have a true
understanding of how drug use affects the community."

Redman said DARE is part of the education children need to make wise
decisions in the future.

"We can't hold their hands for the rest of their lives," he said.