what is dare

D.A.R.E. stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education. It is an education program aimed at preventing the use of controlled drugs, membership in gangs, and violent behavior among children from kindergarten through 12th grade. The program is led by police officers and teaches children skills to resist peer pressure to use tobacco, drugs, and alcohol. D.A.R.E. uses a formal curriculum to educate students in the school classroom, with special attention given to fifth and sixth graders to prepare them to resist negative peer pressure in middle/junior high school and high school. Evaluation results have indicated that D.A.R.E. students, compared to those who have not participated in D.A.R.E., have significantly lower substance use since graduation from the sixth grade and are more likely to use effective refusal strategies taught in the D.A.R.E. curriculum. D.A.R.E. envisions a world in which students are empowered to respect others and choose to lead lives free from violence, substance use, and other dangerous behaviors.