Pubdate: Tue, 24 Jan 2006
Source: Williams Lake Tribune, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2006 Williams Lake Tribune
Contact:  http://www.wltribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1226
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/dare.htm (D.A.R.E.)

DARE BUILDS CONFIDENCE

Younger and younger students these days are being lured into trying 
drugs and alcohol.

In an attempt to help young students develop the skills and 
confidence to resist pressures which may influence them to experiment 
with alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, inhalants and other drugs, School 
District 27 is collaborating with the RCMP to deliver the DARE 
program to Grade 5/6 students in School District 27, says Const. 
David Skretting.

Since January of 2005 more than 140 students from five schools in the 
district will have graduated from the DARE program in Williams Lake.

Schools that received the program this year include Marie Sharpe, 
Glendale, Mountview, Chilcotin Road and Poplar Glade elementary schools.

Skretting says the DARE, or Drug Abuse Resistance Education Program, 
started in Los Angeles in 1986 when the son of the chief of police 
was caught committing break ins to support a drug habit. The chief 
realized that he could not stop his son's drug habit and that his son 
required specialized expensive treatment. He then thought that 
teaching students about drugs, before they're faced with pressure to 
use them, he may be able to prevent students from using them in the 
first place.

The program has evolved and the current program is taught in 
classrooms with local school district support.

The DARE instructors are required to be a peace officer; police, 
customs, conservation officer and receive specialized training to 
teach the course.

The unique aspect of the DARE program is that instructors are not 
selected by the police department.

The officers must want to be a DARE leader and must complete an 
application process and interview before being selected. The 
candidate attends a two-week training course.

The course touches on effective presentation, understanding of the 
program, and understanding how children learn. An elementary school 
teacher is also part of the training team and provides some insight 
as to how the students think and work. At the end of the training, 
applicants are sent to an elementary school where they instruct one 
lesson to a class. Only those showing a commitment to the program 
will become certified DARE instructors. The program is funded by 
nonprofit groups and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

This year the DARE program was supported by the Williams Lake 
Community Policing Committee and by the Williams Lake Lions Club, and 
the Williams Lake Detachment which provided funding for training.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom