Elementary students receive D.A.R.E. education with ‘Keepin’ it REAL’ curriculum

The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office D.A.R.E. Program for Broadalbin-Perth elementary students is in full swing. Students are learning foundational skills to be safe, healthy, and responsible in leading drug-free lives. 

School Resource Officer Nicole Buckley leads the 11-week program for 102 sixth grade students. For 45 minutes, one to two times a week, the students learn about topics that include communication skills, peer pressure, bullying, safe reporting, alcohol and tobacco facts including consequences, and over-the-counter and prescription medications. Pre-K students will be introduced to the program in January with an age-appropriate 11-week curriculum. 

“This program allows the students to create connections and opens communication with the school resource officers while teaching the dangers of peer pressure and drug use,” Buckley said. 

The United States Attorney General issued a landmark report in 2019 on the D.A.R.E. “Keepin’ it REAL” curriculum. The report shows that such programs promote building social, emotional, cognitive, and substance refusal skills that provide children accurate information on rates and amounts of peer substance use. The program is based on more than 20 years of research from information obtained from more than 6,000 students nationwide.