This year, 35 million school children around the world -- 26 million of whom are in the U.S. -- will benefit from D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education). This highly acclaimed program gives children the skills they need to avoid involvement in drugs, gangs, and violence. D.A.R.E. wasfounded in 1983 in Los Angeles and has proven so successful that it is now being implemented in nearly 80 percent of our nation’s school districts and in 52 countries around the world.

D.A.R.E. Overview
D.A.R.E. Curriculum
The D.A.R.E. Difference

D.A.R.E. Overview

D.A.R.E. is a police officer-led series of classroom lessons that teach children from kindergarten through 12th grade how to resist peer pressure and live productive, drug- and violence-free lives. The program was developed as a joint effort between the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Unified School District. It initially focused on elementary school children, but has now been expanded to include middle school and high school students.

D.A.R.E. goes far beyond traditional drug abuse programs that emphasize drug identification and the harmful effects of drugs and alcohol. These programs only warn children not to use these substances, not how to resist the pressures to try them. D.A.R.E. teaches children the skills they need to recognize and resist the subtle and overt pressures that may lead them to experiment with drugs and alcohol. Police officers are utilized as regular classroom instructors to teach the various D.A.R.E. curricula.

The primary goal of D.A.R.E. is the prevention of substance abuse, gang affiliation and involvement in violence among school children. D.A.R.E. accomplishes this goal by:

• Providing students with accurate information about alcohol and drugs
• Teaching students how to say "no" to drugs while providing alternatives to drug use
• Teaching students decision-making skills and about the consequences of their behavior
• Building students’ self-esteem and teaching them to resist peer pressure
  

D.A.R.E. Curriculum

D.A.R.E.’s innovative and highly effective curriculum was developed by LAUSD health education specialists. Police officers receive 80 hours of special training to be equipped with all the tools they need to teach a course in drug resistance and violence avoidance techniques. The D.A.R.E. program includes four main curricula:

K-4 Visitation

D.A.R.E. officers visit the kindergarten through 4th grade classes at the schools. These visits focus on child safety and prevention issues. Students are alerted to the potential dangers in the misuse of drugs, medicine, and other substances. Three D.A.R.E. sessions are held for grades K-2 and two sessions are held in 3rd and 4th grades, laying the groundwork for the rest of the program.

5th/6th Grade

This is the core curriculum for the D.A.R.E. program. It is delivered by a D.A.R.E. officer and includes one lesson per week for 10 consecutive weeks. The D.A.R.E. Program requires that a certified teacher be present to help supplement classroom activities. A wide range of teaching techniques is used, including question and answer, group discussion, role-play, and workbook exercises. The core curriculum provides students with the skills they will need to resist peer pressure to use drugs and join gangs in their adolescent years.

The D.A.R.E. Difference

D.A.R.E.’s impact on reducing substance abuse among young people is well documented both in terms of quantitative studies verifying D.A.R.E.’s successes and in terms of real-life experiences of D.A.R.E. students. More than 20 studies from around the country cite D.A.R.E. as an excellent substance abuse prevention program. Many of these studies clearly demonstrate D.A.R.E.’s effectiveness in preventing drug, alcohol, and tobacco use.

A 1993 Gallup survey of D.A.R.E. graduates aged 11-18 reveals that 93% have never tried drugs, 75% have never tried a cigarette, and 70% have never tried alcohol. More than 90% of D.A.R.E. graduates surveyed said they believe D.A.R.E. has helped them avoid drugs and alcohol, increase their self-confidence and deal effectively with peer pressure.

• With the money spent incarcerating one inmate, D.A.R.E. can educate over 3300 children per year.
• In the time it takes to read this sentence, we’ve spent $1.20 for an inmate to sit in his prison cell.
• Every five minutes, an American smokes cocaine. In those same five minutes, D.A.R.E. has educated over 235 students about the dangers of illegal drugs.
  

The D.A.R.E. program has proven so successful that it is now taught in communities in all 50 states, United States territories and possessions, and Department of Defense Dependents Schools around the world. D.A.R.E. has also been adopted by 44 other nations including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Brazil, Hungary, England, the Philippine Islands and many of the Caribbean Island nations.

Courtesy of the Los Angeles Police Department