The Evolution of the DARE Program

Last year the Sheriff's Office and Lincoln Public Schools together decided the DARE program that was currently being taught in the elementary grades would be expanded to include the middle school students.

As the DARE instruction expands, here are highlights of the program's evolutions since its inception in the 1980's.

DARE was created in Los Angeles in 1983 as it became clear that enforcement of drug laws were not enough, and that resistance education was necessary to effect change in communities. In the beginning, DARE was mainly a lecture series provided to a class by a local law enforcement officer. This was an attempt to put a face to Drug Abuse Resistance Education in schools. However, it didn't take long for studies to come out that indicated the program was falling short and had little to no long-term effects.

In speaking with the public at large today about DARE, you will hear essentially the same narrative based on the old program and how it was implemented: that DARE makes kids aware of drugs they previously wouldn't have known about, defeating the purpose, and that there are concerns about having it taught to young impressionable students still today.

What is not known is the studies done on the curriculum and how those studies have changed it for the better.

Since the beginning of the program, independent research of DARE has been extensive. Several case studies, including the "Take Charge of Your Life" program, have experimented with at-risk youth and youth who have had close contact to disastrous situations, such as 9-11 and Hurricane Katrina. They aimed to determine what type of resistance and resilience education would actually be an effective and lasting program. Still, after all of the first research, little positive results were found and the evolution of the program continued in search of something sustainable. Over the last four decades the country's top scientists in this field have worked on finding the best education on drug abuse and other hard decisions that face the youth in our country.

Today, the program that is taught right here in Lincoln no longer aims at just drug resistance education; it has changed its focus to giving our students lifelong coping skills and responsible decision making.

The current DARE program was designed by prevention scientists at both Pennsylvania and Arizona State Universities. It is no longer a lecture series but an interactive dialogue between the students themselves, as well as the students and their instructor. The new DARE "Keeping it Real" program is taught internationally and is available in thirteen languages and Braille. It ranges from Pre-K to High School and allows the instructor to become close with the children. This close relationship allows for discussions to be had about real life scenarios the children are facing.

This new curriculum is not aimed at listing illicit substances and why you shouldn't use them. It is designed to teach children about responsibility and decision making skills, skills that can be applied across their entire lives. It has units on bullying, cyber-bullying, internet safety, being good role models for other students, and the dangers of prescription and over-the-counter medications. The new DARE Decision Making Model taught to the students emphasizes the best way for kids to have an effective process for taking responsibility for their actions and fixing problem decision making.

This model has a new meaning for the acronym DARE. It is now Define, Assess, Respond, and Evaluate. That is, define your problem, assess your choices, respond (you always have a choice), and evaluate the outcome of your decision. This puts all the power in the students hands. This is a new evolved curriculum with many new skills to be taught.

More information on what DARE is doing today can be found and http://www.dare.org.

The hope is that if the information about the new DARE program is spread, the old stigmas can be combated. With this comes an opportunity for us all to support our kids in their new decision making endeavors. v