Deep River D.A.R.E Program

1987 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS Sponsors: Acme Auto Parts, Atwoods Auto & Appearance, Auto Sound Crafters, PPG Industries, Town Fair Tire, Whelen Engineering D.A.R.E Officer: Trooper Richard Burgarella

Project D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) is a cooperative effort of the Connecticut State Police and the Deep River Police to prevent drug abuse in children and youth.

Project D.A.R.E. began in the Los Angeles school system. It was developed by the Los Angeles Unified School District, the Los Angeles City Board of Education, and the Los Angeles City Police Department. Project D.A.R.E. has now become a nationwide program. Project D.A.R.E. came to Connecticut two years ago where a small pilot program was conducted. Because of the outstanding success of those pilot programs, Statewide Narcotics Task Force, of the Connecticut State Police has instituted the D.A.R.E. Police Officer Training Program for the State of Connecticut. The first training program was done on October 28, 1988, and thirty-three Connecticut police officers successfully completed the eighty-hour course.

Traditional drug abuse programs dwell on the harmful effects of drugs. The program emphasis of D.A.R.E. is to help students recognize and resist the many pressures that influence them to experiment with alcohol, cigarettes and drugs. In addition, program strategies are planned to focus on feelings relating to self-esteem, interpersonal and communication skills, decision-making, and positive alternatives to drug abuse behavior. The focus of the program is aimed at the fifth grade. The reason for this focus is that this is the age group where peer pressure is going to become a large part of the youths development.

D.A.R.E.'s aim is to equip our youth with the skills to resist peer pressure to experiment with and use harmful drugs and alcohol. The program content for D.A.R.E. is organized into seventeen 60-minute lessons to be conducted by the Resident State Trooper and suggested extended activities to be taught by the regular classroom teacher.

A specially trained State Trooper who has successfully completed an 80-hour training course will conduct the lessons. This course includes: officer-school relationships, development of self-esteem, peer pressure resistance techniques, narcotics recognition, communication skills, child development and classroom evaluations. The State Department of Education is actively involved in the 80-hour instructor training process.

Upon the students' successful completion of the program, the students take part in a D.A.R.E. graduation ceremony at the Deep River Elementary School. This is where selected students are asked to read aloud to attendees their essays, which state what they have learned in the program. Plans for the future are to include a junior and senior high school program in the Deep River schools and also a parent program.

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