Pubdate: Fri, 31 Oct 2003
Source: Hawk Eye, The (IA)
Copyright: 2003 The Hawk Eye
Contact:  http://www.thehawkeye.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/934
Author: Craig T. Neises
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/dare.htm (D.A.R.E.)

DARING TO DO WITHOUT DARE

Teachers, administration say DARE program is missed, but not likely to 
return any time soon.

Students in Burlington fifth-grade classes are not DARE-ing to say no to 
drugs this school year.

Earlier this year, the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, which had 
been taught 14 years in the city, was the victim of budget cuts by the city 
and the school district.

Gone from classrooms is Officer Kathy Houlton, who once taught students 
about drugs and how to say no to them.

Houlton survived the job cuts by the Burlington Police Department for the 
2005 fiscal year, but was reassigned to patrol duty.

In her absence, teachers say, fifth-graders are not getting the word about 
the dangers of drugs nearly as effectively as in the past.

"I have some posters around the room," Corse Elementary School fifth-grade 
teacher Wilma Deuitch said Wednesday, pointing out the only regular 
reminder her students get on the topic.

Deuitch said she also offers verbal reminders, and shares some materials 
she finds in the newspaper about drugs.

Students also are participating in Red Ribbon Week activities and are 
getting the anti-drug message that way.

But it's just not the same.

A year ago at this time, Deuitch's students were getting a weekly lesson 
about drugs - what they are, what they do, and strategies for staying away 
from them despite pressure to experiment.

"It's a program that I feel is very necessary," she said. "I did not like 
not to have it."

Deuitch said she doesn't have the materials or resources to teach her 
students as the DARE officer was able to.

Corse principal Dave Van Ness said issues of drugs, alcohol and tobacco are 
being addressed as part of the school's character education program. The 
focus is not on those issues alone, however, as students are taught to be 
good citizens.

At Grimes Elementary School, home-school liaison Aaron Wagner said, the 
National Institute on Drug Abuse had sent materials for a six-week program 
on drug abuse prevention. He was not certain whether any teachers were 
using it.

While acknowledging that the long-term effectiveness of the DARE curriculum 
had been questioned in many places around the country, Wagner said it is 
"unfortunate" that Burlington no longer offers it to students. Drugs are 
touched on in the science curriculum, but there is nothing on a weekly 
basis about drugs and choices.

"We are not doing anything specifically to replace it," he said.

While personnel matters were the reason behind the police department's 
decision to pull the DARE instructor, school district officials said in the 
spring the district could not use any of its federal drug-free schools 
money to cover the cost of the program.

New education legislation called No Child Left Behind prohibits use of 
federal dollars to pay for programs that have not been shown in scientific 
studies to do what they claim. DARE has never been so validated.

And although the district did put money into its 2004-05 at-risk program 
budget, which is drawn from local tax revenue, to pay the bill for 
returning a resource officer to Burlington High School next year, no money 
was put in for DARE.

Superintendent Mike Book said recently that police department personnel 
limitations was one reason. Another was that other priorities besides DARE, 
such as covering the cost of teachers at the alternative high school and 
offering summer school programs for middle- and elementary-level students, 
were included in the at-risk budget.

On Wednesday, Assistant Superintendent Clark Goltz said that Grade A-Plus, 
the local healthy lifestyles advocacy group that sponsors Red Ribbon Week 
and other events like New Year's Rockin' Eve, has sample lessons available 
for use in the schools.

Those lessons have been distributed to teachers in Burlington's elementary 
and middle schools, he said. Even if used, the lessons are limited.

"They are not as thorough as DARE," Goltz said.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom