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D.A.R.E.

D.A.R.E. is an acronym that stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education. D.A.R.E. is a preventive program that was originally developed in 1983 by the Los Angeles Police Department in partnership with the Los Angeles Unified School District. In this program, specially trained police officers go into the classrooms of the Excelsior Springs Middle School and teach a 17-week cirriculum. One of the primary goals of the program is to teach young people the skills necessary to resist the peer pressure to experiment with harmful drugs. The D.A.R.E. program also emphasizes conflict resolution skills in an effort to reduce violence among young people.

The D.A.R.E. program in Excelsior Springs began in 1989. The D.A.R.E. program is presented in the sixth grade. The students meet with the D.A.R.E. officer once each week for 17 weeks. The D.A.R.E. officer uses a variety of activity-oriented techniques to involve students in group discussions, and exchange of ideas and feelings, and some role playing exercises. There is an evening 'Graduation' ceremony, which includes parents, at the conclusion of the program.

In addition to the sixth grade D.A.R.E. program, an abbreviated program is presented to all first and third grade students. The elementary program focuses on topics such as stranger danger, drugs, personal safety, and conflict resolution.

The Excelsior Springs Police Department currently has two officers that are trained and certified to teach the D.A.R.E curriculum.