The Palmerton Police Department

WHAT IS THE Palmerton Police Department "D.A.R.E." PROGRAM?

D.A.R.E. stands for "Drug Abuse Resistance Education". This 17 week program is taught by specially trained Palmerton Police Department Officers. In the Palmerton Area SchoolDistrict, sixth grade students with the cooperation of their teachers and parents learn to identify and resist the social pressures to use dangerous drugs.

HISTORY OF D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) Program In 1983, the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Unified School District recognized the need for a comprehensive, long term educational approach to prevent substance abuse among young children. Through a cooperative effort, the D.A.R.E. program, which uses officers as instructors, was developed. In the beginning, D.A.R.E. focused on elementary school children. It has since become a comprehensive program for K-12. The D.A.R.E. program has proven so successful that it has expanded into more than 10,000 communities in all fifty states and Department of Defense schools worldwide. It has also been adopted by many other countries including Australia, Canada, Mexico and Brazil. The program is estimated to be taught to over 5.5 million 5th and 6th grade students each year.

The D.A.R.E. program was conceived on the premise that prevention is the only long-term answer to our nation's drug problem. The D.A.R.E. program is positive and substantive. It avoids scare tactics and relies on accurate information and a straight-forward approach.

D.A.R.E. lessons focus on:

  • Providing accurate information about drugs and alcohol
  • Teaching students decision-making skills
  • Showing them how to resist negative peer pressure
  • Suggesting healthy alternatives to drug use, and
  • Building self-esteem.
D.A.R.E. Officers will visit classes, and have the ability to conduct faculty workshops and present programs to parent/teacher organizations in addition to their assigned classroom instruction. D.A.R.E. Officers are meant to be an available resource for students, teachers and parents on information on drug resistance and avoiding violence in their community. In November 1995, Chief of Police George Taptich became the first Palmerton Police Department D.A.R.E. Officer. Chief Taptich attended the D.A.R.E. Officer Training conducted by the Virginia State Police in Virginia Beach, VA. In October 1996, Patrolman Randy Smith was the second Palmerton Police Department D.A.R.E. Officer to be trained at the Pennsylvania D.A.R.E. Officer Training conducted at Elizabethtown, PA by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.

During the 1996-1997 school year, D.A.R.E. Officers Taptich and Smith provided D.A.R.E. training and visitations to over 1,000 students in the Palmerton School District. Visitations were given to students from kindergarten thru 5th grade. A core training program was developed for six classes of sixth grade students from the Palmerton Area School District. Principal Sarah Stroup of the S.S. Palmer Elementary School and Principal Jack Corby of the Towamensing Elementary School were instrumental in the development and guidance of the D.A.R.E. program in the Palmerton School District.

The inaugural culmination ceremony was held on May 30, 1997 at the Palmerton Area High School. 140 students sixth grade students successfully completed the program. The ceremony was attended by numerous local dignitaries and Carbon County Commissioner Charles Getz. Congratulatory letters for graduating students were presented to Palmerton Area School District Superintendent Ronald Milhalko from President William J. Clinton, Pennsylvania Governor Thomas Ridge, and Pennsylvania State Senator James C. Rhoades. This inaugural ceremony was marked by the attendance of Major General James MacVay, the Adjutant General of Pennsylvania. The keynote speaker was Pennsylvania State Representative Keith McCall. The following students were selected to read their D.A.R.E. student essay's at the culmination: Jim Shafer and Stephanie Rosado of the Towamensing Elementary School and Connie Muthard, Rebecca Muthard, Angela Bollinger and Amanda Fronheiser of the S. S. Palmer Elementary School. The overall winner of the DARE ESSAY for the 1997 DARE Program was Stephanie Rosado.

For the 1997-1998 school year, the Palmerton Police Department D.A.R.E. program has expanded to provide core instruction and visitations to the 137 students of the St. John Neumann Regional Elementary School, co-located in Palmerton and Slatington. It is estimated that this year's D.A.R.E. program will reach approximately 1,237 students. D.A.R.E. reinforces the Palmerton Borough's and Palmerton Area School District's commitment to the war against drugs. The D.A.R.E. program is administered by the Palmerton Police Department.

For more information about the D.A.R.E. Program call the Palmerton Police Department (610) 826-4055 between the hours of 8:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.

rev. 11/97.

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