USE THE TEACHER COMMUNITY TO SURVIVE THE D.A.R.E. BUDGET CUTS

The Fort Worth Star reported that School districts in North Texas have dropped out of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program because of school budget cuts and the lack of evidence that the program is effective. School districts share the cost of the program with the city or federal funds. The Arlington district’s director of the Safe and Drug-Free School Program, Tony Arangio, stated that the district had to discontinue the program a few years ago because the city was no longer able to continue funding its’ half of the program costs. There was also a reduction of federal Title IV allocations at the same time, which were used to cover the district’s half of the cost, totaling to about $350,000.

However, the program has improved and is still popular with many students and school officials. With its improvements, the program delivers a message that is designed to be concise, cost-effective and current. D.A.R.E. is also redoing their program in high schools to make it video-based, which allows officers to tailor their curriculum to specific areas of the community. In addition, lectures have been replaced by student discussion, enabling classrooms to become more interactive and students to share their own ideas.

It is unfortunate that budget cuts have gotten rid of the helpful D.A.R.E. program. At Applebatch, we believe in the importance of keeping young students safe and healthy. The teacher community can continue to spread the knowledge of the dangers of drugs and gangs with the help of one another. In addition to our online community (http://applebatch.com), we are providing a community page for teachers to share their thoughts and ideas about the matter. Education professionals can enhance their careers but sharing ideas with other professionals, building their teacher network, sharing resources, and staying up to date on current education related news. In addition to these resources, Applebatch also provides users with the opportunity to search for teaching jobs through the website.