What Became of the DARE Program (Drug Abuse Resistance Education)

What Became of the DARE Program?

By Jeffrey M. Bowen

Sometimes songs and lyrics gain new meaning even as they kindle memories.  This is true for a musical message I wrote in 1995, simply called “If We DARE”.   Few Pioneer middle school students of that era may remember the song, but many more may recall a program named Drug Abuse Resistance Education and the program’s enthusiastic instructor, Deputy Wayne Krieger.

Deputy Wayne was Cattaraugus County’s official DARE officer when I arrived at Pioneer Central.  He taught middle school kids a popular 10-week curriculum designed to discourage use of controlled substances and related risky behavior.   Besides teaching, the deputy enjoyed dialogues with students and promoting DARE hats, t-shirts, mugs and sundry other paraphernalia including an old Corvette captured in a drug raid. Kids were expected to sign a pledge to resist drugs, and graduation was a celebration often attended by elected officials.

When the deputy heard that I liked to write a little music and play the guitar, he challenged me to write an official song for the program.  I accepted but asked him to share the curriculum so I could fit the right message into lyrics.   What became of the song, and the entire DARE program, confirms the saying that what goes around comes around.

By June of 1996, teacher Ron Tyrell (M. “T”) and others had corralled a group of 6^th and 7^th graders who were willing to learn the song I had composed.   Deputy Wayne convinced the county legislature to let the kids sing them the song.  Not only were the singers given a standing ovation, but the program was granted $16,000 in county funding for the next year.  To celebrate, two months later we found ourselves repeating the performance in the boxing ring at the county fair.

Although the song never made the charts, the DARE program peaked in popularity among parents, teachers, and politicians.   Born in 1983, DARE was conceived by Daryl Gates, the police superintendent of Los Angeles, who believed that the message of abstinence from drugs, gang membership, and violent behavior would be more convincing if taught directly by trained police officers.  Thousands of school districts adopted this intuitively appealing approach.  

Unfortunately, by the late 1990s, the popular slogan of “Just Say No” had been tested in multiple scientific studies and found wanting.  Critics insisted that the program was more indoctrination than education, and that it increased the awareness and curiosity of youth, but had no effect reducing abuse.  Within a few years, DARE was dropped from federal

lists of evidence-based, grant-funded initiatives.  Yet the program persists as a remarkable network of cooperative efforts still thriving in schools across the country.

There are some convincing reasons why.   One is adaptability   After evaluating and surveying more than 30 federally validated programs, two research universities produced a revised DARE curriculum best summed up by the slogan “keepin’ it REAL.”  The acronym stands for Refuse, Explain, Avoid, and Leave.  Instead of just receiving instruction about controlled substances and addiction, students now engage in dialogues and role playing.  Children are empowered by coping strategies and social-emotional ammunition to resist.  Early surveys show promising results.

Although Pioneer no longer uses the DARE program, mandated health education curriculum includes up-to-date drug abuse lessons.  Encouragements in the DARE song suggest how the message has found its way through the medium and still is working well.   Pioneer continues to nurture self-responsibility and control, self-esteem, making good choices and confident communication skills.  As the lyric says,     

“Life’s all about making decisions,

Life’s all about making a choice.

Don’t let others tell you,

Or try to fast sell you,

Cause you have to listen to hear your own voice.”

No one understood this better than Deputy Wayne Krieger who has become a memorable role model for the many school resource officers who have followed him.  As the lyric notes,

“We all need someone to look up to.

Tell me, who do you think it should be?

Is it someone who follows the others,

Or someone who asks what’s important to you and to me?”

Note: Wayne Krieger served as the county’s DARE officer from 1995-2000.  He also taught criminal justice coursework at the county BOCES.  Krieger’s family works with the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation to support three scholarships annually for students enrolled in BOCES programs who are interested in the field of law enforcement.