Description: Officer-led, in-classroom anti-drug, anti-gang, anti-violence education for school children around the world.

Development: D.A.R.E. originated as a cooperative effort of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).

Mission: Provide children with the information and skills they need to live drug- and violence-free lives. Establish positive relationships between law enforcement and students, teachers, parents, and other members of the community.

Curricula: Developed by LAUSD health education Specialists. Specially trained police officers teach a course in drug resistance and violence avoidance techniques. Lessons focus on: 1. Providing accurate information about alcohol and drugs, 2. Teaching students decision-making skills, 3. Showing them how to resist peer pressure, and 4. Giving them ideas for alternatives to drug use, and violence.

D.A.R.E. + PLUS: After school, on-campus program that offers middle and junior high school students safe, enjoyable, educational alternatives to the local streets.

State, Countries: All 50 states, U.S. Department of Defense Schools worldwide, and 44 countries around the world.

Projected Number of Students to be Reached: More than 26 million in 300,000 U.S. Classrooms will benefit from the D.A.R.E. curriculum this year.

Number of Lesson Plans: The D.A.R.E. curriculum have five separate components: 1. K-4 Weekly visitations by D.A.R.E. officer, 2. 5th/6th grade- 10 lessons, plus visitations in grades K-4, 3. Junior High/ Middle School- 10 Lessons, 4. High School- 6 lessons with 3 follow-up lessons by teacher, 5. Parent Program- 6 lessons.

D.A.R.E. Programs in Place: 10,000 cities have signed cooperative D.A.R.E. partnerships between law enforcement and local school districts at the "grassroots" level. The program also is being offered in countries and communities around the world.

Materials: Education curricula, program outlines for schools, student workbooks, educational videos, drug awareness information for parents, information pamphlets for citizens and community groups.

Funding: Provided by D.A.R.E. America through private and corporate donations. Officer salaries are at public expense.

Mascot: Daren- an adorable yet street-smart lion who campaigns the D.A.R.E. anti-drug/anti-violence message.

Successes and Results: More than 30 independent evaluations show students have learned to resists drugs and violence. This is documented most recently in Research conducted by the Ohio State University. In addition, school vandalism, truancy, and gang activity have decreased. Relations between ethnic groups have improved. Students have developed a more positive outlook toward police and school. In addressing the expansion of school-based prevention programs that work, the President's National Drug Control Strategy 1997, specifically cited the D.A.R.E. program.

D.A.R.E. in Missouri was an adaptation of the Los Angeles model. At the beginning, the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP), Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and local school districts laid the groundwork for a pilot program that began in September 1989. The pilot project was aimed at fifth and sixth graders in nine schools statewide. The pilot project was coordinated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol through a Bureau of Justice Assistance federal grant administered by the Missouri Department of Public Safety.

The D.A.R.E. officer was required to successfully complete an 80 hour training course. The demand for D.A.R.E. will necessitate training new D.A.R.E. officers in calendar year 1990. The Missouri State Highway Patrol was responsible for program facilitation and training of local Missouri police officers who would deliver the D.A.R.E. program in their local schools.

Each school selected for D.A.R.E. training was visited once a week for 17 weeks, under the old curriculum, by the assigned instructor. Lessons last 45-60 minutes and involve students in a variety of exercises; written, oral and roll-playing. The instructor spends most of the day at the school. Aside from D.A.R.E. lessons, D.A.R.E. officers present short talks on safety issues in grades k-4, work with teachers in the mentoring process and interact with students during lunch and recess. This process, with the new improved curriculum, exist in today's educational program.

Since 1990, 57 DOT classes passed through the halls of the MSHP Training Academy. In April 2004, the MSHP withdrew from the D.A.R.E. education program. In January 2006, the Missouri Police Chiefs Charitable Foundation acquired responsibility for the state training program. MPCCF has currently produced 2 DOTS with more classes scheduled.

The proposed long-term goals for the D.A.R.E. program have not changed since its conception in 1983.

D.A.R.E. offers and innovative approach to substance abuse prevention that has been both well-received and easily adapted. This drug resistance program effectively addresses another form of child exploitation--victimization through substance abuse. Please join us in education our youth with the only tested and verified prevention program in existence.

RESEARCH-BASED PRINCIPLES OF PREVENTION EFFECTIVENESS

(Department of Education)

Equipped with the latest science-based prevention learning components, NEW D.A.R.E. provides curricula that actively engage students in innovative learning. The new curricula are based on research-based Principles of Prevention Effectiveness, science-based National Health Education Standards and measurable objectives. All lessons are student-directed and help students practice decision-making and refusal skills in a variety of contexts.

As a result of the new programs, thousands of current D.A.R.E. officers have undergone significant “re-tooling” to learn the dynamics of active learning and facilitated teaching. In addition to extensive training in the new methodology and lessons, officers must complete an online course. The basis of the programs is not traditional lecture, rather, the officers act as a “guide on the side” skillfully facilitating student-centered activities and skill development.

The research-based Principles of Prevention Effectiveness (DOE) improve outcomes and are the cornerstones of the NEW D.A.R.E.

Specifically:

1. NEW D.A.R.E. programs are developmentally appropriate with easy-to-relate-to situations/activities that both engage and challenge the students to think deeply. A team of national prevention and curriculum experts field-tested the lessons to assure age specific relevance and enjoyment.

2. NEW D.A.R.E. dismisses one time applications and supports frequency of instruction that starts early and often—each program has a minimum of ten spiraling lessons. Particular emphasis is found in the transitional years of seventh and ninth grades.

3. NEW D.A.R.E. programs apply a variety of active learning techniques that support student-centered learning. Students process ideas in groups, and practice decision-making skills in spiraling activities that they easily relate to.

4. NEW D.A.R.E. has required a complete overhaul of the DARE Officer Training Program. This 80 hour intensive training, designed to improve outcomes, applies active learning and facilitated teaching using all of the new lessons. All officers are trained in both the elementary and middle school programs and achieve certification as a SRO officer. Training tapes are provided and officers must also successfully complete an online training course.

5. NEW D.A.R.E. applies decision-making skills throughout the elementary and middle school programs. The easy steps help students build skills as they process dilemmas and situations.

6. NEW D.A.R.E. teaches students a working knowledge of risk of how substances affect the human brain and body. With high-tech imaging students apply the latest facts to real life situations. Most lessons are reinforced with discussion of how the human body is harmed by ATOD.

7. NEW D.A.R.E. develops healthy attitudes about why students should refuse ATOD. New skills are practiced as students reflect why they value a healthy body and brain.

8. NEW D.A.R.E. reinforces accurate normative beliefs in a series of lessons where students investigate perceived versus actual usage data for students their own age.

9. NEW D.A.R.E. promotes media literacy by practicing skills that focus on understanding media motives, warning labels, and truthful advertising.

10. NEW D.A.R.E. focuses on good communication skills building from the simple to the complex. Student groups practice listening activities with feedback activities designed to strengthen the practice of clear response styles.

11. NEW D.A.R.E. develops good refusal skills through a series of group activities that provide all

students many opportunities to process, apply and make meaning of their right to refuse.

12. NEW D.A.R.E. promotes high self-efficacy as students practice and become confident in their

ability to use new skills.

The Principles of Prevention Effectiveness are interwoven throughout the ten lessons of both the elementary and middle school curricula. The dynamic lessons build on themselves enabling students to apply their new skills in spiraling problem-solving activities.

NEW D.A.R.E. builds on the healthy relationship law enforcement has always enjoyed in our schools. Combining the goals of providing a safe learning environment while teaching a state-of-the-art student-centered program is two-fold impact that belongs in all schools.

NEW D.A.R.E. continues to be taught in over 75% of the school systems throughout the nation. The tradition continues!

THE FACTS:

The D.A.R.E. Program was developed in 1983 and is now taught in a majority of school districts nationwide. The program is also taught in 54 foreign countries reaching over 36 million children and their families worldwide.

Prevention of drug abuse is best served when all aspects of a community work together. To this point, D.A.R.E. officers integrate themselves into the school climate and provide a vital link between community policing and drug prevention education. As members of their school community, D.A.R.E. officers “connect” to students, faculty and administrations in a unique and highly visible role as caring prevention professionals.

The goal of D.A.R.E. America is to provide the most comprehensive science-based programs for the thousands of officer who deliver the actual lessons. Taught in schools, the curricula provide practice in resistance skills for problem solving as the facilitated lessons work through ever-increasing levels of authentic challenges faced by today’s students.

The NEW D.A.R.E:

Teaching young people to resist drugs and violence requires continuous research in the field of prevention. With over 50,000 officers trained since 1983, D.A.R.E. America is committed to continuous improvement as new research findings guide the need for change. In fact, in 2004, D.A.R.E.’s elementary and middle school programs are brand new.

In order to respond to such improvement, D.A.R.E. America has implemented massive training efforts directed at “re-tooling” thousands of officers in the new curricula. The New D.A.R.E. programs require practice and understanding of the latest trends in active learning and facilitated teaching methods. With the goal of ensuring fidelity in the delivery of these new programs, this training is required of all officers before they are able to use the new materials.

Recognizing that no other school-based program possesses the delivery system of D.A.R.E., the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has provided a $13.7 million dollar grant to the University of Akron to develop and test the middle school and high school New D.A.R.E. Programs. These state of the art substance abuse prevention programs are being tested and evaluated over a five-year period of time, with over 19,000 students in six U.S. cities – Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Newark, and St. Louis.

This study is the largest and most complex longitudinal evaluation in the history of drug prevention. The core focus is the development and evaluation of new curricula for the D.A.R.E. middle school (7^th grade) and high school (9^th grade). The goal is to design and test next generations of research- based school curricula, in brief, matching the best prevention science with D.A.R.E’s effective delivery system.

The New D.A.R.E. curricula for the 7^th and 9^th grade incorporate the latest in teaching techniques, including high-tech, interactive, and decision-model-based approaches. New D.A.R.E. officers are trained as “coaches” to support kids as thy try-out research-based refusal strategies in high-stakes peer-pressure environments, New D.A.R.E. students get to see for themselves – via stunning brain imagery – tangible proof of how substances diminish mental activity, emotions, coordination and movement. Active learning and “best teaching” practices are used with a focus on the complex reasoning behind decisions and actions

Recent findings from the study of New D.A.R.E. show that the nation’s largest and most comprehensive prevention research effort is on track and meeting researcher’s expectations.

The latest data indicate that positive results from the first year of the study have carried over into the second year. Specifically, those students who received the New D.A.R.E. 7^th grade program, continued in the 8^th grade to have improved scores on decision-making skills and beliefs that drug use is socially inappropriate.

D.A.R.E’s elementary school program is also new having been written with the latest in prevention science. This program will dovetail with New D.A.R.E. middle and high school programming and begins its own rigorous research study in the spring of 2004. “The entire D.A.R.E. program, top to bottom, is benefiting from researched-based messages to an extent never before possible,” says Charlie Parsons of D.A.R.E. America, “That’s just how fast the prevention field is evolving and D.A.R.E. must be right on track.”

According to Joe Villani, Deputy Executive Director of the National School Boards Association and member of D.A.R.E. America’s Education Advisory Board, the New D.A.R.E. Study at the University of Akron has the potential to transform the substance abuse and violence prevention field. “With the study’s solid emphasis on what works in prevention, plus the D.A.R.E. network’s ability to reach millions of kids every year, the possibilities to create a positive and sustained impact are very real,” says Villani, “Plus, when all is said and done,” he adds, “New D.A.R.E. is cutting-edge prevention delivered in the context of what kids think is ‘cool’.”

D.A.R.E. America remains committed to employing the most cutting edge methodology in its efforts to keep young people drug-free. Realizing there is no single “silver bullet” for prevention, D.A.R.E. America looks forward to the vital role played when outstanding programs are delivered in partnership with communities and schools. Now, more than ever, “An ounce of prevention is – worth a pound of cure” – B. Franklin-.