Submitted Articel
news@wbcowqel.com
After a short hiatus, the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program is back in the classroom at Bucyrus Secondary School. Sixth grade students in Mrs. Felecia Ervin’s class participate in the program every Friday over twelve weeks that began Sept. 9.
Crawford County Sheriff’s Deputy Chris Martin instructs the course during the twelve-week period. Deputy Martin teaches the D.A.R.E. curriculum five days a week in eight different schools throughout Crawford County.
“Sheriff Scott Kent really got the ball rolling to bring the program back to Bucyrus,” Deputy Martin said. “He (Kent) told me to take advantage of any opportunity that was offered to come in to the Bucyrus Schools and teach the program.”
While Deputy Martin is unable to teach the entire D.A.R.E. program to students in kindergarten through sixth grade, he is able to focus on the core curriculum with the students. That focus on the core curriculum has had a tremendous impact on students.
“The biggest thing I learned was the amount of chemicals in cigarettes and how they can hurt you,” sixth grader Abigail Solomon said. “Learning these lessons will definitely keep me from using cigarettes.”
“The one thing I learned is to not smoke because you could get lung disease and die from it,” sixth grader Kelly Stratton said. “I’m planning to not do it.”
Hearing these things shows Deputy Martin that he is connecting with Bucyrus students in a short period of time, and that the lessons he’s teaching are being taken seriously.
“I have had a phenomenal response from the students,” Deputy Martin said. “The Bucyrus students have welcomed me in like I have been here with them since kindergarten. It is very exciting!”
Administrators at the Secondary School are grateful to have Deputy Martin in the building because they know that through D.A.R.E, the students are being taught skills they can use to arm themselves when faced with critical decisions that could ultimately affect them for the rest of their lives.
“Studies have proven that the D.A.R.E. program works for students,” Secondary School Associate Principal John Massara said. “If we can help students learn how to make good choices when they’re outside the home or the hallways of the school building, then we have made a positive impact on their lives. We couldn’t be happier to have Deputy Martin in our building teaching the invaluable lessons of the D.A.R.E. program to our students.”
To learn more about the D.A.R.E. program visit www.dare.org, or contact the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office at 419-562-7906.