D.A.R.E.

THP is highly active in D.A.R.E. -- the international program that gives kids the skills they need to avoid involvement in drugs, gangs, and violence. 

The D.A.R.E. curriculum is designed to be taught by law enforcement officers whose training and experience provides them with the knowledge and insight to best address the topic with kids. To schedule a D.A.R.E. presentation for your school, please contact the D.A.R.E. Program Facilitator Sergeant Kasey Fitts at 615-232-2912 or via email.

Additionally, THP's D.A.R.E program provides all training for law enforcement in Tennessee.  The basic training includes 80 hours of instruction and a certificate for Instructor Development.

Founded in 1983 in Los Angeles, D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) has become one of the most widely recognized prevention education programs in the world. Its success has led to implementation in approximately 75 percent of school districts across the United States and in more than 43 countries worldwide.

D.A.R.E. is a police officer-led educational program that provides age-appropriate lessons for students from kindergarten through 12th grade. The program equips young people with the skills they need to resist peer pressure, make safe and responsible decisions, and lead healthy, productive, drug- and violence-free lives.

D.A.R.E. curricula are science- and evidence-based. Multiple studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of the keepin’ it REAL curriculum, which serves as the foundation of D.A.R.E.’s elementary and middle school programs. The curriculum is designed to strengthen students' decision-making, communication, and resistance skills through proven prevention strategies and interactive learning experiences.

The D.A.R.E. curriculum is taught by specially trained law enforcement officers whose professional experience enables them to address the complex questions students often have about drugs, alcohol, violence, and other high-risk behaviors. By hearing these important messages from officers who have witnessed firsthand the consequences of poor decisions, students gain valuable real-world perspectives that reinforce the lessons taught in the classroom.

Before entering the classroom, prospective D.A.R.E. Officers complete 80 hours of specialized training covering areas such as child and adolescent development, classroom management, instructional techniques, communication skills, student engagement, and presentation skills. Upon successful completion of the training, officers are certified to teach all D.A.R.E. curricula from kindergarten through high school.

D.A.R.E. America continuously updates and enhances its curriculum and training programs to meet the evolving needs of today's students, schools, and school-based law enforcement professionals. The D.A.R.E. Officer Training program is approved for eighty (80) hours of P.O.S.T. credit and provides officers with the knowledge, skills, and certification necessary to effectively deliver D.A.R.E. lessons at all grade levels.

In addition to D.A.R.E. certification, graduates receive an Instructor Development Certificate, recognizing their successful completion of training in instructional methods, classroom facilitation, public speaking, and effective communication. These skills enhance an officer's ability to engage students, deliver impactful lessons, and serve as an effective educator within the school environment.

D.A.R.E. is universally viewed as an internationally recognized model of community policing. The United States Department of Justice has identified how D.A.R.E. benefits local communities:

• D.A.R.E. "humanizes" the police: that is, young people can begin to relate to officers as people
• D.A.R.E. permits students to see officers in a helping role, not just an enforcement role
• D.A.R.E. opens lines of communication between law enforcement and youth
• D.A.R.E. Officers can serve as conduits to provide information beyond drug-related topics
• D.A.R.E. opens dialogue between the school, police, and parents to deal with other issues
  
  

Meth Destroys

www.MethFreeTN.org

They're our kids. Our future. Our legacy. And we all want the same thing for them—the best.

We want their futures to be bright, secure, healthy and safe. And we want them to succeed. We want them to join us in the worlds of business and commerce, law and medicine, manufacturing and selling, teaching and serving.

That's why we care. We care about their ability to cope with the challenges of life in contemporary America. We care about their capacity to resist the negative influences around them. We want them to focus instead on their strengths and their potential.

D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education - A simple acronym with a big message. It's a crusade that works.