Maitland City Talk

On Nov. 10, fifth grade students from Lake Sybelia Elementary graduated from the DARE program. I was honored to be on hand along with City Manager Jim Williams, and Deputy Chief Dave Manuel. Students and parents gathered for a day-long celebration that included readings of award-winning essays, graduation announcements and a pizza party. Given front-page newspaper articles on drug abuse, this graduation was especially meaningful.

DARE (Drug Abuse and Resistance Education) was founded in 1983 in Los Angeles and has proven so successful that it is now being implemented in 75 percent of our nation’s school districts and in more than 43 countries around the world. We’re lucky enough to have a committed police department that reaches into our community and works with both Lake Sybelia and Dommerich Elementary schools to implement this program. DARE has been offered in the fifth grade in Maitland schools for the last 20 years and it’s a program that students really enjoy participating in.

Today’s kids are incredibly fortunate as they are able to learn from teachers and police officers alike, increasing the chances that they will stay away from drugs and alcohol. When I was in fifth grade, there were no personal computers, no cell phones, iPods, Internet, Twitter or Facebook. We were so disadvantaged; we didn’t even have a clicker for our TV. We also did not have D.A.R.E programs like we have in Maitland.

For one hour a day, one day a week, Officer Allison Diller visited with students throughout six classes and worked with them to understand what gateway drugs are and how to resist peer temptation to participate. The focus of the lessons was marijuana, tobacco, alcohol and inhalants. Throughout the 10-week program, children in our community learned how to recognize these drugs and learned different ways to avoid situations where drugs may occur.

Officer Diller encouraged students to role-play and act out different scenarios where they thought they might encounter certain drugs. She talked through situations with the kids and answered questions they may have otherwise been embarrassed to ask. She encouraged them to take those lessons with them into middle school and use them in other situations where they are pressured to do something they’re not comfortable with.

Regardless of whether or not your children went through the DARE program, I encourage you to have conversations with them about the pressures that they may face. In today’s world, there are more and more situations that children face where they encounter pressures from other kids. This graduation ceremony stands to serve as a reminder that lines of communication should always be open and awareness is key to prevention.

For her hard work and dedication to our city’s youth, I thank Officer Diller and commend her on a job well done. The City of Maitland makes the program part of our budget and hopes the School Board of Orange County will continue to do so as well.