South Dakota Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.)

The South Dakota Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program completed its sixteenth year of instruction for South Dakota youth in June of 2004. The program was presented in the 2003-04 school year for the first time in the new format introduced nationwide this year. This new curriculum was designed by the University of Akron utilizing a grant from the Howard Wood Johnson Foundation. It brings the latest in teaching techniques and science based curriculum design together into a ten week program for both the elementary and middle school levels. This will aid agencies in presenting the program in more schools, and also facilitate the inclusion of the middle school program in districts that formerly could not schedule the program in.

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The new curriculum is currently in the third year of a five year evaluation of the combined effects of the program. This will keep the program current and allow officers to take the latest research into the classroom. D.A.R.E. officers receive constant training and updates, sharpening their skills and increasing their knowledge so that they are able to present the best possible program to the children of South Dakota. Continued growth and support of the D.A.R.E. program in an overall community policing effort within our communities provides the best possible education for the youth of South Dakota on the dangers of alcohol, drugs and violence.

D.A.R.E. helps students recognize and resist the many direct and subtle pressures that may influence them to experiment with alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, inhalants and other drugs. The D.A.R.E. program offers preventive strategies which help in the development of social competence, communication skills, self-esteem, empathy, decision making, conflict resolution and positive, healthy choices in life.

The State D.A.R.E. Coordinator offers a two week D.A.R.E. instructor training each year, and evaluates all D.A.R.E. programs within the state to ensure that a uniform curriculum is instructed statewide.

More information about the South Dakota D.A.R.E. program is listed below. The numbers represent the 2003-2004 school year.

• D.A.R.E. America
• D.A.R.E. Agencies and Instructors
• D.A.R.E. Bulletin Board
• Student Participation 
• 2001 Program Evaluation (57K PDF)