D.A.R.E. stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education. It is a drug abuse prevention education program designed to equip elementary, middle and high school children with knowledge about drug abuse, the consequences of abuse, and skills for resisting peer pressure to experiment with drugs, alcohol and tobacco. Based on the premise that prevention is the only long-term answer to drug abuse, the program includes all 50 states and 53 countries. The D.A.R.E. program is taught in over 75% of the nation’s school districts, creating a positive atmosphere for students to interact with uniformed law enforcement officers.
This unique program uses uniformed law enforcement officers to teach a formal curriculum to students in a classroom setting.
D.A.R.E. lesson plans focus on four major areas:
- Providing accurate information about drugs, alcohol and tobacco.
- Teaching students good decision-making skills.
- Showing students how to recognize and resist peer pressure.
- Giving students ideas for positive alternatives to drug use.
D.A.R.E officers work with children to raise their self-esteem, teach them how to make decisions on their own, and help them identify positive alternatives to drugs. Through role-playing, the D.A.R.E., curriculum emphasizes the negative consequences of drug use, and reinforces the skills to resist peer pressure and intimidation.