Pubdate: Tue, 2 Sep 2003 Source: Dallas Morning News (TX) Copyright: 2003 The Dallas Morning News Contact: http://www.dallasnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/117 Author: Kim Breen, The Dallas Morning News Related: http://www.familywatch.org/library/v98.n982.a11.html PLANO POLICE OPT FOR ALTERNATIVE TO DARE New Elementary Program Cheaper, More Flexible, Officials Say The Plano Police Department has replaced the DARE program in Plano elementary schools with one that is cheaper, shorter and, officials say, is more flexible and relevant to students' lives. School liaison officers stationed at middle schools started traveling to elementary schools last week to teach the Law Enforcement Teaching Students program to fifth-graders. LETS, developed by the Dallas Police Department and school district, is a six-week program that teaches children everything from the dangers of drugs to self-confidence, decision-making and bullying. More than 30 cities in the state teach the program, including Dallas, Garland, Mesquite and Richardson. "We just feel that LETS is going to fit our circumstances better at this time," Plano Police Chief Greg Rushin said. The program will be used at the 33 district elementary schools within city limits. Students will have six weekly 45- to 50-minute classes. DARE programs consist of 10 classes. Chief Rushin said budget constraints forced him to drop DARE after the 2001-02 school year. Last year, the department had no anti-drug program in the schools. Chief Rushin said LETS offers more diverse lessons than Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or DARE. It's also much cheaper. The Police Department won't have to pay for officer salaries, and the materials and training don't cost as much as in DARE, officials said. DARE competitors have popped up in communities throughout the country, said Ralph Lochridge, spokesman for the organization. Whether the program is effective - or even counterproductive - has been debated for years, but Mr. Lochridge said the reason many districts have opted out is for financial constraints because of the poor economy. He said the research that goes into developing the DARE program makes it better than its rivals. "I guarantee you that this program will ultimately continue to be the best in the country," said Mr. Lochridge, who could not provide statistics about districts that have dropped the program. DARE, which began in 1983, reached 83 percent of U.S. school districts at its peak. Mr. Lochridge estimated the figure is now between 75 percent and 80 percent. DARE began in Plano with a pilot program in one school in 1991, eventually reaching all city elementary schools. By 2001-02, the program cost the Police Department more than $310,000. The vast majority of that cost was to pay salaries for four full-time police officers who traveled to each of the schools. Because the city will be using its existing police force to teach LETS, it avoids the cost of officers whose only job is anti-drug instruction. The change means the officers will spend fewer hours in the middle schools. The officers will work in elementary schools that feed into their middle school. "By the [liaison officers] going into the feeder schools, this enables the students to go ahead and get to know the officer ... preparing them for the middle school transition," said Mark Hinshaw, director of security police services for the district. Plano police Sgt. Gary Mills, who supervises the officers in the LETS program, said he was concerned at first about the change. "This is an added burden, and it takes the [liaison officer] out of the middle school," he said. Sgt. Mills said he learned during training that once the class starts, it becomes so rewarding that officers don't complain. He said he is no longer concerned. He said he's had nothing but positive feedback from the three officers who began teaching last week at Memorial, Wyatt and Wells elementary schools. Other schools will start the program this week. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake