DARE TO SAY 'NO'

Just what does your average Grade 5 Surrey student know about drugs?

A class full of them at Grandview Heights Elementary confessed, that just a
few short weeks ago, their knowledge was sorely limited.

Tessa: "I didn't know the difference between London Drugs and the drugs
people sell on the street."

Joe: "Always sounded like some kind of poison."

Travis: "Well, I thought I knew everything."

The group is part of a pilot project in Surrey schools that sees a trained
member of the RCMP teaching students what drugs are, what happens to people
who use them, and how to say "No."

It's called the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program and, while
it's been taught in U.S. schools and other B.C. school districts for
several years, these students are the first in Surrey to take the course.

Divided into 17 modules, DARE aims to teach pre-teens the skills they need
to resist the social pressures to experiment with cigarettes, alcohol and
drugs.

The effects of drugs on the body, social consequences, the reasons people
turn to drugs, alternative and positive ways to spend time, building
self-esteem and assertiveness, as well as how to go about saying "No," are
all covered during the one-hour classroom sessions taught by Surrey RCMP
Const. Mike Elston.

"It's really about teaching them they have choices to make. And those
choices will play a role in how their future turns out," Elston said,
noting the in-class interaction also helps youngsters see police as
approachable and friendly.

"We talk about gangs, family pressures, violence, just about anything
that's of concern to young people."

There's also a DARE box for questions, that allows students to ask
anonymously for information or help.

Della Meyers, Grandview Heights principal, says it's helped open doors for
conversation between students and their parents.

"I'm hearing about it from moms and dads. The students go home with even
more questions, and then I hear from the parents," Meyers said.

According to Elston, the program costs the RCMP about $11 per student. That
includes a workbook, pencils, a DARE t-shirt, and the officer's time
(although Elston volunteers to teach during his off-duty time as well).

The students' final class is set for June 4, when they will invite their
parents to attend a graduation ceremony that features skits displaying what
they have learned.

And even students like Travis, who thought they knew everything, will have
something new to share.

"Yes, I've learned some very interesting things," Travis says, such how to
give drugs the cold shoulder.