The D.A.R.E Society is looking to make some staffing and structural changes.


It no longer needs a full time RCMP Officer and is temporarily taking out the middle school D.A.R.E Program.

"The most significant change as we move forward into the 2012/2013 school year is we are leaving behind what we refer to as the middle school program for the grade 7 students," says Greg Diebolt, D.A.R.E President. "And our full time D.A.R.E Coordinator will no longer  be an RCMP Officer, but a municipal bylaw enforcement officer."   The D.A.R.E Coordinators have come to the conclusion that they no longer have enough classes to justify a full time RCMP Officer.

The Society adds, the reasoning behind taking out the middle school program, is it is too juvenile for the students in this age group and is no longer relevant. Coordinators believe with the advancement of technology the students are already aware of the things they are being taught. "We certainly want to continue in the future with moving on the drug message to kids beyond grade 5 and 6, we just want to find a way to make that message more engaging and more meaningful. That includes with the help and direction of educators and police officers," Diebolt explains.

"This isn't a step backwards. It's our acknowledgment of the fact that when it comes to a mid-school curriculum we need to improve on it, rather than continue to roll out something that is less than satisfactory. It's not like it's broken, it has just been less than satisfactory," Diebolt says.

The Society is going to continue looking into an alternatives for the middle school students in order to provide more engaging drug and alcohol abuse prevention programming.