ANSONIA – Ansonia fifth-grade students recently completed the D.A.R.E. program, marked by a graduation ceremony attended by Darke County Sheriff Mark Whittaker and numerous members of his staff.
“We start the program in the fifth grade,” said Sheriff Whittaker. “It gives the students a base to make healthy choices and provides ideas and thoughts they can consider, because there is a time when they’re not always around their parents or other adults.”
“Whether it’s running around at our county fair on their own with friends, or as they get older and parents begin to loosen the strings and give them opportunities to be independent,” he continued, “we want them to be ready to make good, healthy decisions and understand that situations may arise where we’re going to rely on them. This is the groundwork for that.”
Ansonia School Resource Officer, Deputy Alan Yount, completed his first class of fifth-grade students and expressed appreciation for the support shown by Sheriff Whittaker and the department.
“It is extremely important,” Deputy Yount said. “This is our first year reintroducing the program, and my first year teaching it. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of fifth graders to start with. They were very receptive to everything, and we had a really good turnout this year.”
The D.A.R.E. program provides students from kindergarten through high school with skills to recognize and resist pressures to experiment with drugs, as well as avoid gangs and violence. Lessons emphasize self-esteem, decision-making, interpersonal communication skills, the consequences of drug abuse, conflict resolution, and positive alternatives to substance use.
To become certified to instruct D.A.R.E., a police officer must first be interviewed by a panel of police executives, D.A.R.E. officers, and school administrators. If approved, the officer then completes two weeks (80 hours) of intensive training through Ohio’s accredited training center.
A key component of the program is the use of specially trained officers to deliver the curriculum in schools, helping students view officers as trusted authorities who confront the realities and consequences of drug abuse on a daily basis.
“When we brought the D.A.R.E. program back, we wanted our SROs to also be the D.A.R.E. officers so we can establish those relationships with our school kids,” said Deputy Yount.
Sheriff Whittaker emphasized the importance of helping young people feel comfortable around law enforcement.
“It is very important to us, and that’s the reason for the School Resource Officer program,” Whittaker said. “That led to teaching the D.A.R.E. program. It allows deputies in uniform to interact with students daily so they can see there are two sides to a deputy. It’s not always about enforcement. We want them to know we are someone they can come to if they are having problems, feel unsafe, or need help.”
