BRIDGEVILLE POLICE PICK UP DARE PROGRAM FOR SEVENTH-GRADERS AFTER COLLIER
DROPS OUT

Because of Bridgeville Police Department's intervention, seventh-graders at
Chartiers Valley Middle School in Collier may receive DARE instruction this
school year after all.

The program was to be discontinued in early September when Collier, which
has supplied two DARE officers to the district's primary, intermediate and
middle schools, decided to not participate.

Township officials cited studies that have questioned the effectiveness of
the training as the reason for their decision, which knocked out DARE
instruction at the primary and middle schools. The fifth-grade program was
impacted, too, though officers from Scott thought they could fill that gap.

Chartiers Valley Director Mary Lou Petronsky, a Bridgeville resident, was
disturbed by Collier's decision, and contacted Bridgeville Mayor Don Dolde.
"If only one child is helped by the DARE program, then I believe it's worth
it," she said.

Dolde took the matter up with his police department, and borough council
recently approved sending two officers to training Jan. 4-16. It has not
been determined who the officers will be, Dolde said last week.

Though the training will allow the officers to work with seventh-graders,
it will be too late for the primary school curriculum, which was to begin
in mid-September.

The training period will put a strain on Bridgeville's small department,
which is down to seven members because of its chief's retirement and an
injured officer. Borough officials are on track, however, to have a new
chief selected before the DARE training begins. Council has narrowed the
field to three candidates. "I'm real proud of our department. We're not
missing a beat," Dolde said.

Though Dolde said he was aware of some studies that suggested DARE was not
a useful tool, he questioned how the program's effectiveness could be
accurately determined.

"It can't be a negative thing," he added, given its educational benefits.

Many of the less flattering studies seem to be based on DARE's earlier
years. The program began in Los Angeles in 1983 and spread across the
nation. It has been updated a number of times, with the latest revision
producing a streamlined curriculum and a new name.

DARE, which formerly was an acronym for Drug Abuse Resistance Education,
now means Define, Assess, Respond and Evaluate. A federal grant helps to
pay for officers' instruction time and program supplies.