Pubdate: Sun, 13 May 2007
Source: Pantagraph, The  (Bloomington, IL)
Copyright: 2007 Pantagraph Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.pantagraph.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/643
Author: Phyllis Coulter
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/dare.htm (D.A.R.E.)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

D.A.R.E. MAY HAVE SEEN LAST YEAR

BLOOMINGTON - For the last two weeks, Bloomington  fifth-graders have
celebrated the skills they learned  in a police-led drug resistance
training program.

At Monday's Bloomington City Council meeting, Mayor  Steve Stockton,
who attended a half dozen Drug Abuse  Resistance Education graduations
at Bloomington  schools, will tell council members what parents and
students told him about the program which may be  discontinued after
this year.

If the Bloomington Police Department goes ahead with  its plan to
restructure how officers spend their time  in Bloomington parochial
and District 87 elementary  schools, this may be the last DARE
graduations here.

At the graduations, 99 percent of what Stockton heard  from parents,
students, and teachers was positive, he  said.

Stockton said he got emails, phone calls and letters  including a
whole packet from St. Mary's School  students - all supporting DARE.

"I think I will probably raise it in discussion,"  Stockton said. The
topic has not been specifically put  on the council agenda, but can be
brought up in the  mayor's discussion portion of the meeting.

Nevertheless, outside fifth grade, support for DARE  seems to be more
lukewarm.

Upon finding out that the DARE program might be  discontinued,
Sheridan Elementary School teacher Curt  Broughton, decided he wanted
to do something to help  save the program.

"I teach fifth grade, and I think DARE is crucial to my  students," he
said. He tried to get enough support to  go to city hall, but couldn't
find it.

"I'm afraid that outside of current fifth-graders,  their parents and
teachers, there just hasn't been  broad community support," he said.

Bloomington police spokesman Duane Moss said the  department plans to
pull two current DARE officers from  that program in order to fund a
third resource officer  who will work in the elementary schools just
as two do  now at Bloomington High School and Junior High School.

Under such a plan, the new officer will teach some  lessons, but will
also be available to assist with  other issues that arise at the
school, and provide a  police presence to give students a positive
first  interaction with police. The emphasis is more safety  than
education, Moss said.

Some fifth-graders think the program should be kept.  "It was fun. I
didn't know a lot of stuff they told  me," said 11 year-old Trinity
Lutheran School student  Mara Plantholt who won a DARE essay contest.

Bloomington would join several other communities which  have
discontinued DARE programs, usually because of  funding, Moss said.

No DARE in Unit 5

Normal-based Unit 5 ended DARE in 2003.

After it was dropped, a new program was created in Unit  5 schools
with the assistance of Bloomington and Normal  Police, and McLean
County Sheriff's office.

"They did a wonderful job," said Kurt Swearingen Unit  5's director of
elementary education of designing the  new program.

He said the four-week Elementary Health and Safety  Education program
designed for second and fourth grade  students tackles topics
including traffic safety, drug  use, positive choices, conflict
resolution, bullies,  and "stranger danger."

Swearingen said the advantage of the new program is  that it is
aligned with Illinois Learning Standards.  DARE is a national program.

He said it's not so much the program used. "It's the  message that's
the key," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Derek