The DARE Program in the North Schuylkill School District is taught in the North Schuylkill Elementary building - it encompasses the former Ashland Area Elementary, Frackville Elementary, and Ringtown Elementary buildings. The Schuylkill County Sheriff's Office also provides DARE in the Saint Ambrose School in Schuylkill Haven. Students in Kindergarten, grades two and four receive a four week visitation, and the students in Sixth Grade are taught the eleven week DARE Core Classes.
The students in sixth grade receive the core of the DARE curriculum. The sixth grade students receive eleven consecutive hour-long lessons that are designed to teach them a variety of topics. The DARE core curriculum includes:
- Lessons in Drug Awareness and the difference between drug use and drug abuse
- Lessons in Peer Pressure, how to recognize it and how to resist negative peer pressure
- Lessons in increasing self esteem
- Lessons in Assertiveness
- Lessons in recognizing media pressure to use drugs, and how to resist it
- Lessons in consequences of their own actions and the actions of their peers
- Lessons on risk taking, and how to avoid risks with negative consequences
- Lessons in alternative activities that do not involve drug use
- Lessons from High School Role Models who stress the positive side of High School Life
Each lesson is dove tailed to fit together so that by the end of the eleven weeks, the children have received a well rounded and comprehensive life skills course. Each child that graduates from the DARE Program receives a DARE Shirt, as well as numerous other DARE items including pens, pencils, rulers, water bottles, stickers, magnets erasers, and balloons. At the end of the year, the DARE Program hosts a district wide swim party for the entire sixth grade class. A DJ is at the party for the students' enjoyment, refreshments are served, and there are 100 DARE door prizes awarded. An average of 150 students attend the party each year.
The DARE Program in North Schuylkill is taught by Major Dennis Kane of the Schuylkill County Sheriffs Department. Major Kane has been a DARE Instructor since March of 1989, and he has been in the North Schuylkill District since then. Major Kane teaches the core classes as well as the visitations. For many years, Sgt. Jack Shearn of the Frackville Police and Chief Edward Tarantelli of the Butler Township Police were also DARE Instructors.
