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Drug Abuse Resistance Education
Drug Abuse Resistance Education was founded in 1983 in Los Angeles, California. It is a highly acclaimed program that gives children the skills they need to avoid involvement in drugs, gangs, or violence. This year 26 million children in the U.S. will receive the program in their school. D.A.R.E. is an international program as well. Another 10 million school children around the world in more than 52 countries receive D.A.R.E. In 1988, Shawnee became the very first City in the state of Kansas to start the D.A.R.E. program. Officer Bill Hisle (now Lieutenant Hisle) was selected to be Shawnee’s first D.A.R.E. officer. The City currently has 3 officers teaching the program in 11 schools, both public and private. Shawnee D.A.R.E. officers teach the elementary program as well as the middle school program to 8th graders. The department also has a group of Shawnee police officers who have formed themselves into the band Probable Cause. The band performs at several D.A.R.E. graduations every school year as well as other school related functions. For more information, visit them at www.probablecauserocks.com.
Will my student have a D.A.R.E. officer visit their classroom?The Shawnee Police Department is committed to the D.A.R.E. program. Officers schedule visits to every classroom in the elementary schools. Generally, this includes one visit to kindergarten and 3-5 visits for 1st through 5th grades. The 6th graders receive the 10 lesson D.A.R.E. core curriculum. In Shawnee, D.A.R.E. officers also teach the 10 lesson middle-school program to 8th grade students. What do the D.A.R.E. officers teach in school?The D.A.R.E. program isn’t just about resisting harmful drugs and avoiding violence, although that is the biggest message it hopes to teach. The officers also discuss a wide range of safety issues with the students. In kindergarten through 2nd grade, the officers focus mainly on personal safety issues, such as stranger danger, Safe-to-Taste, seatbelt safety, asking for help and using 911. In 3rd through 5th grade, the officers begin teaching about safety with drugs, both medicine and harmful things like cigarettes and alcohol. The officers talk about consequences and making good choices. The students also are taught several ways to say “No” if they find themselves in a situation where someone is trying to get them to use harmful drugs or do something else dangerous. In 6th grade, students receive the core curriculum in the D.A.R.E. program. What is the 6th grade D.A.R.E. core curriculum?The core curriculum is a 10 week program of one 45-minute class each week. The students work on many different activities in their D.A.R.E. workbooks. Each week the topic is different but the current lesson is related to the previous weeks lesson so as to “build” on the students learning. Some of the topics covered are: the CONSEQUENCES of the misuse of tobacco, alcohol and marijuana, dealing with PEER PRESSURE, WAYS TO BE IN CHARGE, learning how to make good decisions, handling STRESS appropriately and avoiding VIOLENCE. At the conclusion of the 10-week program, the students are recognized at a D.A.R.E. graduation ceremony. All students who successfully complete the program receive a certificate of recognition, a D.A.R.E. T-shirt, and lots of applause! Several graduations have featured an appearance by Probable Cause, a band composed entirely of Shawnee Police officers. What does the 8th grade D.A.R.E. curriculum teach?The 8th grade program is made up of 10 45-minute classes. Students also have a workbook to use for class as well as homework assignments. This curriculum is intended to build on the skills and knowledge the students received in the 6th grade D.A.R.E. program. Classes continue to focus on helping students obtain skills to resist pressure and other influences in making their personal choices. The lessons also focus on helping students manage their feelings of anger and learn how to resolve conflicts without resorting to violence or using alcohol or other drugs. Does D.A.R.E. Really Work?Written by Lt. Bill Hisle, Kansas’ first D.A.R.E. Officer Does DARE work? Or is it a waste of precious school time and resources? Are our tax dollars best spent in the D.A.R.E. Program, or should we use those officers currently teaching D.A.R.E. in our schools in other areas of need like Patrol or Crime Prevention? These are tough questions that deserve honest answers. Let’s first take a look at why there is a need for programs like D.A.R.E. History tells us that smoking marijuana first became widespread among young people in the late 50’s and early 60’s and expanded in the 60’s and 70’s to all kinds of illicit and illegal drug use, as well as the abuse of prescription drugs and alcohol. This drug use expanded exponentially throughout the 70’s and 80’s, along with a rainforest worth of misinformation. Remember the widespread, enlightened 1970’s view that cocaine was not addictive? Or the myth that you were more creative while under the influence of marijuana and LSD. Or how about some of the legal advertising done by producers of adult beverages? You can only win the "Bud Bowl" if it was "Brewed from a clear mountain stream (healthy) from the Colorado Rockies" while being "less filling and tasting great." And from a popular cigarette manufacturer; "You really have come a long way baby." Our society has been 5 decades in creating the self-absorbing drug problem it has acquired. If the criticism of D.A.R.E. is that it hasn’t solved a decades long problem in a year, two years, or even 10 years, then that is a valid criticism. D.A.R.E. is not a panacea for all of society’s ills. It is unrealistic to think that problems that have been a half-century in the making will be solved in a relatively short period of time. D.A.R.E. is an academically sound (written by professional educators) demand reduction program taught to students before they are faced with the peer pressure of using drugs. It teaches students decision making skills that they can use in all facets of life. D.A.R.E. has been accused in the past of teaching children “values.” My response to that is if teaching kids that violence is wrong, if teaching them that illegal drug use, and the misuse of legal drugs can be harmful to their physical and mental health, and if teaching kids to think before they act, and to treat other people with decency and respect is teaching them values, then D.A.R.E. does teach values. And thank goodness, for they are the values that we, at least in part, base our society on. Possibly the best way to determine if the D.A.R.E. Program works is to ask those involved in the program. Past surveys done by the Shawnee Police Department of D.A.R.E. graduates, school teachers, and school administrators show overwhelming support for the program. Students state that not only do they believe the D.A.R.E. Program will help them to resist drugs and violence, they say that the D.A.R.E. Program should continue to be taught in our elementary schools to future students. (Little brothers and sisters no doubt) The Shawnee Police Department and its officers also wholeheartedly support the D.A.R.E. Program. This program gives our department a tremendous public relations opportunity to meet kids, and their parents, on a positive basis. On a personal level, I know the program works having had one child already graduate from the D.A.R.E. Program and another currently participating in the elementary visitation classes. The D.A.R.E. Program reinforces the lessons parents try and teach their children at home. And the more times kids hear the message, the more likely it is to sink in. I think when considering whether or not the D.A.R.E. Program works, it is important to remember the story of the five-year old boy and his father walking barefoot along the beach after high tide had receded. The young child noticed that there were literally thousands of starfish left on the beach to die and began to throw them back into the ocean, one by one. His father noticed what he was doing and said to his youngster “Son, look at all of these starfish. You can’t possibly save them all. What difference does it make?” The young boy looked up at his dad and said, “I know Dad, but I can make a difference to this one,” and turned and threw another back to the sea. The D.A.R.E. Program is much the same way. It won’t save every child. No program will. But D.A.R.E. will make a difference to some, maybe even many. And how about when the children of previous D.A.R.E. students go through the program? The second generation D.A.R.E. students. That’s when I believe we will see a real statistical drop in drug use. Police Officers touch the lives of their students every single day. There are no programs on the horizon that have the potential to effect young lives in such a positive and meaningful way. D.A.R.E. Officers, combined with caring educators and most importantly, loving involved parents, give children the foundation they need to face a difficult, complex, and sometimes confusing world that often times does not have the best interest of the child at heart. D.A.R.E. is a piece of the puzzle that helps to prepare children for that world they will surely face. And what if your school’s D.A.R.E. Officer is able to pick up a Starfish off of the beach, that beach of drug abuse, violence, and poor decisions? And what if that D.A.R.E. Officer throws that Starfish back into the sea, the sea of health, happiness and productivity? And what if that Starfish is your child? I want my precious, precious Starfish, and yours, to have the D.A.R.E. program now and years into the future. Why? Because I know it works!
Probable Cause - Probable Cause is a group of Shawnee, Kansas police officers dedicated to combating violence and drug abuse. |
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Shawnee Police Department, 5850 Renner Road, Shawnee, KS 66217
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In thousands of school classrooms
across the country, highly trained police officers teach the D.A.R.E.
program. The program is unique in that schools and police departments work
together to bring a positive message to school children. Experienced
officers teach a curriculum focused on resisting drugs, avoiding violence
and other important safety information.
Parents sometimes wonder why they see a police car parked
at their children's school. Most of the time it's just the D.A.R.E. officer
there to teach classes. Below are a few questions you may have about the
D.A.R.E. officers and what they teach. If you should ever have any questions
about D.A.R.E., what the officers are teaching or are looking for
information about a certain kind of drug or substance, feel free to contact
the Shawnee Police Department D.A.R.E. Unit at (913) 631-2155.
For
more information about the D.A.R.E. program, check out the official website and
other related web sites: