Purpose

D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) is a collaborative effort by D.A.R.E. certified law enforcement officers, educators, students, parents and community to offer an educational program in the classroom. The program was designed to prevent, educate, and reduce drug abuse and violence among children.

The emphasis of D.A.R.E. is to help students recognize, resist, and challenge the many direct and subtle pressures that influence them when dealing with alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, inhalants, and other drugs. Other emphasis is placed in lessons helping to prevent violence acts associated with bullying, gangs, and internet dangers.

The D.A.R.E. program offers preventive strategies over many lessons to enhance those preventative factors. Continuing to place emphasis on bonding with the family, school and community, this, appears to foster the development of resiliency in young people who may be at risk for substance abuse or other problem behaviors.

The D.A.R.E. program works with students so they can make wise decisions for their own healthy lifestyle, independent growth and the impact they can have on others in spite of adverse conditions and pressures. These strategies focus on the development of social competence, communication skills, self-esteem, empathy, decision making, conflict resolution, with a sense of purpose and independence. All this while promoting positive alternatives such as activities to drug abuse and other destructive behaviors