FORT RUCKER, Ala. -- Seventy-eight Fort Rucker Elementary School fifth graders graduated May 4 from a 10-week Drug Abuse Resistance Education course where they learned how to say "no" to drug, alcohol and tobacco use.
D.A.R.E. officer Spc. Rayford Ivey instructed the classes and said he not only taught children how to turn down these illegal items, but why it's crucial to resist them. He said he explained the substances' harmful effects on their young bodies and legal consequences for such misbehavior.
"It's made them stop and think about what can harm them," said Barbara Doherty, elementary school principal. "It's given them keys that will help them get out of sticky situations (in the future)."
Instructors hope to reach these youth before their first encounters with illegal substances, according to Peggy Contreras, Community Police and Crime Prevention supervisor. D.A.R.E. training gives children the tools they need to resist challenging circumstances, she said.
"We want to get the attention of the kids (when) they're young and impressionable before somebody (negative) reaches them," said Marcus McDougald, Directorate of Public Safety director. "We get them set on the right track to begin with."
He said the course helps children - usually about 10 or 11 years old - step into their teen years and adulthood responsibly by resisting peer pressure and doing what's right.
During the ceremony, three children were honored for essays they wrote as part of the D.A.R.E. curriculum. Lindsey Wray, Matthew Taylor and Allyson Saville took home prizes for their award-winning work.
"I wrote about drugs and keeping them out of our lives," 10-year-old Wray said. "I learned a lot of things I didn't know before."
Michael Simmons, 11, said he enjoyed the entire D.A.R.E. course and learned the long-term repercussions of participating in illegal activities.
"I learned how drugs can affect you for the rest of your life," he said.
Faith Christianson said she feels better prepared to say no should she ever encounter peer pressure to take drugs or drink alcohol in the future.
"If someone asks, I'll walk away or say 'no' into their eyes and try hard," the 10-year-old said.
Her father said D.A.R.E. made anti-drug education more fun for his daughter because she learned the material with her peers and teachers.
"It reinforced everything we teach at home," said CW2 Mike Christianson, a 1st Warrant Officer Company training, advising and counseling officer.
D.A.R.E. has been part of the education system here since 1991, McDougald said.
For more information, e-mail Ivey at rayford.ivey@us.army.mil or visit <a href="http://www.dare.com" target="_blank">www.dare.com</a>.
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