May 15, 2019
By: Dwayne Page
Fifth graders at Northside Elementary School and DeKalb West School again this year benefitted from D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), the highly acclaimed program that gives kids the skills they need to avoid involvement in drugs, gangs, and violence.
D.A.R.E. is a DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department-led series of classroom lessons that teaches fifth graders in DeKalb County how to resist peer pressure and live productive drug and violence-free lives.
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Lewis Carrick, the Sheriff’s Department’s School Resource Officer at DeKalb West School, doubles as the D.A.R.E Officer instructor for the fifth grade classes. A D.A.R.E. graduation ceremony was held Wednesday at Northside Elementary for the students who have completed the 10 week course and a similar program will be held Tuesday at 1 p.m. at DeKalb West School.
The curriculum identifies fundamental, basic skills and developmental processes needed for healthy development including: Self-awareness and management, Responsible decision making, Understanding others, Relationship and communication skills, and Handling responsibilities and challenges.
D.A.R.E. believes that if you can teach youth to make safe and responsible decisions, it will guide them to healthy choices, not only about drugs, but across all parts of their lives. As they grow to be responsible citizens, they will lead healthier and more productive drug-free lives.
As part of the course, students prepared essays on what they have learned from D.A.R.E. and a winner was selected from each fifth grade class. The winners at Northside Elementary were Sarah Pugh, Elisabeth Sturdivant, Rosio Godinez, Genesis Roblero, Jerett Hamilton, and Brownie Johnson. The Overall Winner was Olivia Hale who received a $50 check from General Sessions and Juvenile Court Judge Bratten Cook, II.