Fifth-graders graduate D.A.R.E. program

Staff Report
Students at Centerville, Berwick, Glenco Charter, J.S. Aucoin and Raintree elementary schools celebrated their D.A.R.E. graduations this past school year, according to a St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office news release.
The fifth-graders successfully completed the Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or D.A.R.E., program in the course of a semester. The 10-week long program teaches students decision making skills that equip them to lead safe and healthy lives. Lessons include the dangers of drug abuse, how to resist and refuse peer pressure, and how to take a stand against bullying.
The program is designed to boost students’ social skills and enhance self-esteem which is a key factor in contending with these issues. As a graduation requirement, the fifth graders are asked to write an essay describing what they have learned from the D.A.R.E. program. The essays are often narratives of personal experiences of bullying or peer pressure and explain how the students will use or have used the D.A.R.E. Decision Making Model to overcome those challenges. Guest speakers at each of the graduations encouraged students to continue to use the skills they learned in D.A.R.E.
The St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office manages the program in five schools across the parish for about 500 students each school year. Funding for the DARE program is provided in part through grants and the Louisiana Sheriff’s Association Honorary Membership Program.