Drug Abuse Resistance Education To Resist Drugs & Violence!

The Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program was implemented in 1987 as a pilot program in the City of Taylor. In 1989, D.A.R.E became a full-time program offered by the Taylor Police Department.

Cpl. Kirk Blanchard, known as “Corporal Kirk” by the students, is the current D.A.R.E. officer for the City of Taylor. Cpl. Blanchard has been a D.A.R.E. Officer since 2003. He visits 15 public and private schools and meets nearly 1,000 sixth-grade students each year.

The D.A.R.E. program is 10 weeks long and the officer visits the classroom once a week for one hour. Students are taught about the dangers of tobacco, alcohol and marijuana abuse. They learn how to make the right choices in life by using the D.A.R.E. Decision-Making Model. Role playing among the children is used to practice skills they learn on saying “NO” to drugs and peer pressure.

 Our program is focused on fifth - sixth grade level. The program is ten weeks long.  The D. A. R. E. Officers are in each school one day a week for all ten weeks.  The officers cover approximately fifteen schools, both public and private.

During the ten week period the children are taught about the dangers of abusing various drugs. Consequences, peer pressure, and self-esteem, are some of the lessons covered in D.A.R.E.

Role playing among the students is also used to introduce the children to the feeling of being asked to use drugs by a friend and how to resist that type of pressure.

D.A.R.E. has proven to be a very successful program and has been taught in the schools for seventeen years. Last year, nearly 1000 students graduated from the D.A.R.E. program.

What is the "D.A.R.E". Program?
D.A.R.E. stands for "Drug Abuse Resistance Education."  This 10 week program is taught by specially trained Police Officers.  Fifth and sixth grade students, with the cooperation of their teachers and parents, learn to identify and resist the social pressures to use dangerous drugs.   To become D.A.R.E. instructors, officers receive intensive training to provide them with effective teaching skills. Their selection is based upon human relations and communication skills.

D.A.R.E. was originally developed by the Los Angeles Police Department in cooperation with the Unified School District in 1983.  Conceived on the premise that prevention is the only long-term answer to our drug problem.  This innovative program is proving to be effective and is now taught in schools in all 50 states and several foreign countries.

The D.A.R.E. program is positive and substantive.  It avoids scare tactics and relies on accurate information and a straight-forward approach.  Group discussions and role playing are used as tools in the D.A.R.E. program.

D.A.R.E. lessons focus on:
- Providing accurate information about drugs, alcohol and tobacco
- Teaching students decision-making skills
- Showing them how to resist negative peer pressure
- Suggesting healthy alternatives to drug use
- Building self-esteem.

No matter how well designed a program is, it is not a success unless it is accepted by those for who it is designed.  This is why the D.A.R.E. program is a success.  Students love D.A.R.E.!! They are mature enough to deal with the issue of making decisions about using drugs, and they are younger than the age when statistics show most drug experimentation begins.  D.A.R.E. may be our best opportunity to make a difference.

LESSON #1: Purposes and Overview of D.A.R.E. Program
Students are introduced to the D.A.R.E. program and the D.A.R.E. Decision-making Model. Students practice skills used in decision-making and reflect on their learning in their D.A.R.E. Planner.

LESSON #2: Tobacco and You
This lesson focuses on normative beliefs about the use of tobacco by youth. Tobacco facts are used to design tobacco-warning labels, which are shared with the class. Journal entries reflect the learning.

LESSON #3: Smoke Screen
Students apply tobacco and marijuana facts in a variety of situations using the D.A.R.E. Decision-making Model. Students are introduced to the purpose of advertising. Journal entries reinforce discussions of the affects tobacco has on the body.

LESSON #4: Alcohol and You
Students work through a normative belief activity about the use of alcohol by youth. Decision-making skills are reinforced as students work together solving a variety of situations. Student journal entries in D.A.RE. Planners reinforce skills.

LESSON #5: The Real Truth
Students are given the opportunity to examine alcohol ads in their environment and apply their learning in a relay race. Inhalants and their danger are examined. Journaling processes the new learning.

LESSON #6: Friendship Foundations
In teams, students examine friendship and peer pressure in situational dilemmas using the D.A.R.E. Decision-making Model. Journal entries in D.A.R.E. Planner reinforce new learning.

LESSON #7: Putting It Together
Students work with partners to apply assertiveness skills in a think/pair/share methodology. D.A.R.E. Planner journaling is used to process new skills.

LESSON #8: Personal Action
Student teams practice decision-making skills as they examine the role of personal peer pressure in their lives. Students review their D.A.R.E. Planner entries to assist in creating a personal D.A.R.E. report.

LESSON #9: Practice! Practice! Practice!
Students have the opportunity to apply assertive refusal skills along with facts in a spiraling competition. Personal affirmations about healthy choices are shared from D.A.R.E. reports.

LESSON #10: Culmination
Students are given the opportunity to make a public statement about their choices to resist drugs and violence in a group assembly. Students receive D.A.R.E. graduation certificates and celebrate their accomplishments.