D.A.R.E. Gets Another Year; Program To Be Expanded

The decision about ceasing a police officer-based drug education program that has been taught in the Rockwood School District since 1988 was reversed at last week's school board meeting.

Reacting to public outcry at two school board meetings and through phone calls, e-mails and letters after the district announced the elimination of the popular Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program on May 12, Rockwood's drug education committee members now indicate they will approach the program's evaluation differently.

Prior to a presentation at last week's meeting from the committee of administrators and principals, Rockwood's school board president Steve Smith recognized "the regular visitors" who have been attending board meetings due to their interests in D.A.R.E. "We will hear from you during the patron comments portion of the meeting," he said. "But I think you will discover we have heard you as well."

Committee chair Karen Hargadine called the newest presentation a D.A.R.E. program update from "a preliminary committee investigation." However, the that was scheduled on the June 2 agenda, but not presented, indicated a very definite—and different—approach to Rockwood's future drug education efforts, as reported previously in Eureka-Wildwood Patch. Hargadine is Rockwood’s new executive director of pre-kindergarten and elementary education.

"This is definitely a committee about the danger of substance abuse. Drug education is not being dropped, but changed into an expanded program," she said.

She said committee members believed a new program would offer greater opportunities to provide more positive relationships for students with adult role models.

In addition to Hargadine, committee members include Ken McManus, Meg Brooks, Jane Brown, and Amy Digman.

Committee members met with police officers representing various municipalities June 15, the day prior to last week's board meeting.

"It’s extremely important to keep lines of communication open and to be transparent about something so near and dear to our hearts. Students should always be first in our thoughts," said one of the four presenters.

Students, parents, grandparents, police officers, law enforcement experts and industry professionals consistently have expressed for the past month that they felt the since last fall about a committee's evaluation of the D.A.R.E. program was concerning and unacceptable.

Rockwood director Matt Doell emphasized that D.A.R.E. may not be the same program next year, per the changes and upgrades that already were under way to the program's content and curriculum.

One D.A.R.E. representative based in Missouri, Elizabeth "B.J." McConnell, flew back from a business trip solely to attend the last week's board meeting. She serves as the deputy director for education for D.A.R.E., and lives in the St. Louis area. In response to Doell's questions about alterations to D.A.R.E., she explained that she and other D.A.R.E. organizers had just worked on the new program for four straight days.

McConnell noted that D.A.R.E.'s new dimension resulted from professionals at Pennysvlania State University working with social and emotional theories. "They've developed a new, very strong decision-making model. The new D.A.R.E. curriculum is meant to enhance, not replace, compreshenive health programs," said McConnell.

"Drug education can work like a hand in a glove, unless parents aren’t involved, then it’s like clapping with one hand," she said.

She said Rockwood may be able to be one of the national test sites for the new D.A.R.E. curriculum.

Hargadine said she thinks there is "a making of a great partnership."

The committee led by Hargadine is developing a plan for continued substance abuse education for all elementary grades, not just fifth grade. She said the new committee will include not only educators and administrators but also police, community agencies and parents.

The essential components of D.A.R.E., and the purpose of the D.A.R.E. program, are not being dropped, but changed into an expanded model of drug prevention, said Hargadine.

Per the committee's presentation, the current rationale is changing this program from a one-year, fifth grade emphasis to a multi-grade, integrated approach will
provide a greater opportunity to build student relationships with area police officers and community members.

While D.A.R.E. will continue for another school year as Rockwood's primary drug abuse prevention program, committee leaders indicated they wanted to expand the program into covering other topics, such as citizenship, safety, personal health and wellness, fitness, cyberbullying, peer pressure and community service.