D.A.R.E.-ING TO STAY DRUG-FREE

Washington Township Police Chief Barry Keller displays one of the
cards his officers use when teaching the D.A.R.E. program.

Washington Township Police Chief Barry Keller can't say for sure if
the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program taught in
elementary schools has lowered drug use.

"You see those numbers fluctuate up and down in terms of drug use,"
Keller said.

Drug use and drugs of choice tend to cycle; for instance, heroin
currently is the most prevalent drug in the area, Keller said.

"It's almost like fashion," he noted.

But Keller knows D.A.R.E. has made a difference in the lives of at
least some of the Waynesboro Area School District students who have
gone through the program during the 16 years his department has
administered it.

"You have teaching moments when you have an opportunity to get
information from them, when you draw it out of them," Keller said.

He has had children say they were offered a cigarette but turned it
down, kids who go home and tell their parents they need to quit
smoking and high school seniors who still remember what they learned
from him as fifth-graders.

But for those who return to homes where alcohol and drugs are
prevalent, the program might not be as effective, he said.

"It depends on the kid if they apply it later in life," he said. "Some
remember the things we talked about."

That is why D.A.R.E. is only one piece of the puzzle to get kids to
steer clear of drugs.

"It has the potential to be a very strong component of an overall
plan," Keller said.

He said the message to stay away from drugs must come from multiple
sources - parents, officers and other adult role models.

That officer "is one more person who doesn't do the same job as your
mom does but believes the same things your mom believes and
strengthens that message," he said.

Repeating the message is especially important now because of what kids
see on TV and on the Internet.

"We're in the age of information," Keller said. "Kids are exposed to a
lot more."

The program

D.A.R.E. - police officer-led classroom lessons that teach how to
resist peer pressure and live productive drug-free and violence-free
lives - was piloted in Los Angeles in 1983, according to the program's
Web site.

It now is in nearly 80 percent of America's schools and more than 54
countries, reaching a total of 36 million school children.

The program has gone through 10 incarnations.

Currently, a specially trained officer teaches in fifth-grade
classrooms once a week for 10 weeks. They also visit with children in
the younger grades. Lessons range from tobacco to choosing good friends.

In the Waynesboro school district, the program is administered by the
Waynesboro Area Drug Consortium, made up of representatives from each
municipality in the district and school district employees.

Funding is provided by the municipalities, the school district, the
Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency and the Department of
Education.

Last year, the department received only $10,334 from the state because
some D.A.R.E. funding was cut from the budget. Keller said the program
will receive more this year since it will visit more schools.

Washington Township police visit every elementary school in the
Waynesboro Area School District. Keller said students and parents
alike anticipate their arrival.

Since the department was two officers short last year, their visits to
schools were delayed.

"We got questions about when we would start," Keller said.

Editor's note: For more information, visit www.dare-america.com