Purpose Statement

Features of the DARE curriculum include direct interaction with a police officer in the classroom setting, which enhances a positive interaction and provides credibility to the importance of substance abuse prevention information. The officer builds partnerships with the students, staff and community, focusing on becoming a resource for them.

Needs Addressed

Youth in Jackson County may have favorable attitudes about alcohol or drugs at school, or may not know anything about them or their dangers at all. They are exposed to friends who engage in or have favorable attitudes towards alcohol and drug use, with peer pressure to use alcohol or drugs.

Youth do not have adequate skills to refuse peer pressure to engage in drinking alcohol or abusing drugs. Youth who have experience in the use of drugs and alcohol may not know their dangers or the negative impacts they have on their bodies. Some youth may not have the home support system to differentiate between what is right or wrong when it comes to drugs, alcohol or violence.

Services

Lessons promote healthy interactions between students and teachers, featuring fun activities that involve students in their own learning and offer students the opportunity to act out the REAL strategies of Refuse, Explain, Avoid, and Leave. The curriculum uses a series of videos produced by youth and based on students' real stories as a key learning tool. 

Lessons:

The DARE 10 lesson curriculum uses 40-45-minute segments containing a variety of teaching modalities aimed at encouraging student participation in activities such as group work, role-plays, pair discussions and games. These lessons are designed to promote interaction among the students themselves as well as between the students and the teacher, which creates an environment where the students are involved in their own learning.

Each lesson includes an outline, an activity sheet with instructions, student worksheets for use in class and as homework, and notes to the teacher. Enjoyable activities are included to illustrate the skills and allow students to practice the REAL (Refuse, Explain, Avoid, and Leave) resistance strategies.

Each lesson comprises a homework assignment and, starting with Lesson 2, a review of the previous lesson's concepts. The students' performance on the homework worksheets helps them assess how well they are grasping the skills and knowledge taught in the class. Overhead slides, in-class worksheets, and materials written in Spanish are provided to supplement the learning.

The DARE Officer also extends the program's substance abuse resistance outreach by teaching the 7th grade DARE principles to reinforce the information that was provided in elementary school and supplements the 8th grade Health class by teaching a component called Truth About Drugs.

Addressing Violence:

We address violence in the DARE curriculum. It is introduced in lesson 5, "Dealing with stressful situations". We talk about how violence is not the answer to stressful situations when you are feeling angry. We discuss positive ways to deal with stress. We touch on it in lesson 6, "Basics of communication". We talk about how to not be demanding in your communication and not act in a hostile way towards others. It only provokes hostility and stops effective communication. We talk about violence in lesson 8, "Bullying". We talk about how to recognize bullying, what to do if you are a victim of it, what to do if you witness it and how to help the person being bullied. We also talk about how to report bullying, and we stress that violence is not the answer.

Locations

Click on the window icon (upper right corner) of the map below to expand. List of all program locations is included with expanded view of map. Locations are also listed on this page below the map.