Fifth grade students from Blackmore, Grandview, and Skelly gathered in Skelly’s gym on Nov. 22, 2024, to be recognized for completing the ten-week Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program.
D.A.R.E. was developed in Los Angeles, California, in 1983 as a way to combat drug use by educating students about the dangers and potential consequences of using drugs, alcohol, or tobacco. The program has expanded to include social emotional lessons and encourages students to avoid all destructive behaviors, emphasizing the importance of making good choices.
Students were required to write an essay about the D.A.R.E. decision making model they had learned about and a winning essay and two runners-up were selected from each school. The winners received a pin that says, “DARE Essay Contest Winner” as well as a certificate to be redeemed in the new book vending machines that have been installed in each elementary school.
Blackmore’s winner was Macy Darling and the runners-up were Teagan Mathias and Shiya Vance.
Grandview’s winner was Ellen Cornett and the runners-up were Case Rickard and Annabelle Todd.
Skelly’s winner was Talia Dickerson and the runners-up were Trinity Shelefontiuk and Griffin Barlow.
Superintendent Davis congratulated the fifth graders and implored them to not only make good choices, but to be good people and use the information they learned in D.A.R.E. to protect themselves and the people they care about.
State D.A.R.E. Coordinator Randy Combs, who also teaches D.A.R.E. in Deerfield, Kansas, talked to students about navigation and how important it is to stay on course. He reminded them that a GPS will re-route them if they make a wrong turn and they should apply that concept to life. If they make a poor choice, choose a course correction to get back on track, do not just continue down the wrong path.
Combs also shared a fable from a 1970s public service announcement character called Iron Eyes Cody called “The Fable of the Snake.” The moral was that they all know drugs are bad, so if they pick them up, they should not be surprised if they get bit.
After the guest speaker, students were called forward to fist bump Superintendent Jenifer Davis, USD 490 Police Chief Tyson Nielsen, El Dorado Police Chief Mike Holton, Randy Combs, and each of the elementary principals (Mrs. Arnold, Mrs. Simmons, and Mr. Henderson) on their way to get their certificate and a pencil from SRO/D.A.R.E. Instructor Jason Lowery.