Marijuana.com

Lit_Match

Elyria bumps D.A.R.E. program
District says it has too narrow a focus
11-25-06|The Chronicle|Lisa Roberson

Starting next year, fifth-grade students in Elyria schools will no longer participate in the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program.

The school board decided earlier this semester to end the agreement that brings an Elyria police officer into the schools with Superintendent Paul Rigda saying the nationally-renowned program is “narrowly focused.”

To better serve the students, guidance counselors will spend more time in the classrooms teaching a broader curriculum that encompasses D.A.R.E., as well as other pressures facing today’s youth.
The new approach will start in kindergarten as opposed to D.A.R.E., which starts in fifth grade. Guidance counselors and teachers will work together to develop an age-appropriate lesson that focuses on teaching kids to make healthy choices.

Topics will run the gamut from sex and avoiding drugs and alcohol to peer pressure and why vandalism is not cool. Topics will change as students age to make the lessons more relevant. And, unlike D.A.R.E. where students “graduate,” the new curriculum continues until high school.
“Where D.A.R.E. had its role, nothing lasts forever, and nothing works in a ‘one-size-fits-all’ format,” Rigda said. “This approach is not just a six- or eight-week course kids have to get through to graduate. This way it is embedded in every aspect of school that will ultimately give us a better chance at changing the attitudes that lead to destructive behaviors.”

Elyria police Lt. Andy Eichenlaub said schools will still have a police presence, although there will no longer be an active D.A.R.E. officer. She returns to road patrol after this semester.
With the elimination of the program, Eichenlaub said the department will no longer apply for the federal grants to fund the D.A.R.E. program. The additional money the police department put toward the program from its own budget now will be divided among other needs.

“There is a lot of pride in the program, but the schools are doing a lot more in the classroom meaning we are going to have to do more to keep up with the interaction we have with kids,” Eichenlaub said. “Officers are always working family events like the Apple Festival and Fourth of July fireworks. Those are great times when parents can initiate contact with officers.”

Patrol officers regularly visit neighborhood schools and will be encouraged to do it more as a result of losing the program. In addition, starting Monday, a community resource officer will be permanently stationed at the high school. His role will be a combination of prevention, intervention and investigation.

Rigda said the idea to cut the D.A.R.E. program has been months in the making, although little to no community input was solicited.

“We honestly believe we are not taking anything out of our curriculum,” he said. “This will absolutely mean more service, more education and — here’s the bonus for the community — at not a penny more.”

D.A.R.E. started in 1983 in Los Angeles, Calif. at the height of the War on Drugs, gangs and violence. It is now in 75 percent of the nation’s schools and offers police officer-led classroom instruction on a variety of topics including smoking, drugs, and alcohol. It is funded in part by the police department and grants.

 

Buzzby

Research has shown that D.A.R.E. is totally ineffective in its primary goal: preventing drug abuse. D.A.R.E. graduates consume illicit drugs at rates equal to or higher than kids who don't go through the program. And, yet, taxpayer money is being wasted keeping the program in 75% of this nation's schools.

Why would anyone seek information about drugs and drug abuse from police officers? Their bias should be obvious. They are professionally required to be against the use of any substance deemed to be illegal. They see the worst side of the drug-using community and tend to tend to think that anyone who uses pot will end up a heroin addict. Why? Because they have to deal with the small percentage of people who develop drug abuse problems and not the great majority who don't.

They also have a tendency to arrest your children. As we all know, the consequences of getting messed up with the legal system are far worse than the consequences of using marijuana.

__________________