DARE program to graduate more than 500 Carson City area fifth graders
Thursday was DARE graduation day for around 90 Fremont Elementary School students. The drug prevention program, coordinated by Community Prevention Officer Lisa Davis of the Carson City Sheriff's Office, is active in all elementary schools with classes taught to fifth graders.
In all about 550 fifth grades from around Carson City will graduate from the program this spring, said Davis.
This year also marks the first time DARE has been taught at the middle school level. DARE's Keeping It Real sessions are held during seventh grade PE classes. This year there will be around 250 students who have completed the program at Eagle Valley Middle School and Carson Middle School, said Davis.
"The middle school curriculum is done by other students, so it is kids teaching kids," said Davis.
Students enrolled in DARE classes learn how to make wise decisions while being safe and responsible. Students learn about substance abuse and the harmful affects that it not only has on the individual but families.
DARE also teaches children about bullying and resistance strategies that help them back out of situations so they are able to stay out of trouble and, when necessary, help others get out of trouble as well.
DARE has evolved and changed with the addition of the Keeping it Real program. The curriculum matches up with school districts across the nation, with upgrades to resistance strategies and incorporating critical thinking skills so that children can make better decisions, said Davis. Since the sheriff re-implemented the DARE program in 2003, juvenile crime rates in Carson City have decreased by 14 percent.
The reason for the decrease is that "kids are simply making better choices because they are learning to make wiser decisions," said Davis.
Photos of today's ceremony are courtesy of Dana Lee Fruend.
- Carson City
- Carson City Sheriff's Office
- carson
- Ceremony
- children
- choices
- City
- classes
- community
- Community,
- crime
- day
- drug
- eagle
- Eagle Valley Middle School
- Elementary School
- families
- Fremont
- Fremont Elementary
- Fremont Elementary School
- Graduation
- Health & Wellness
- help
- kids
- Kids!
- learn
- learning
- middle school
- photos
- Prevention
- program
- Program:
- Rates
- Safe
- school
- Schools
- sheriff's office
- skills
- Spring
- students
- Teaching
- Carson Middle school
- sheriff