By Shari Kaplan
When the Los Gatos Union School District Board of Trustees recently considered starting DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) at local schools, some members said they needed more time to research the program before taking a vote.
As the board prepares to meet tonight, March 13, member Steve Glickman has raised a red flag.
Glickman, who serves on the county Juvenile Justice Commission, told the Los Gatos Weekly-Times that his experience with DARE has been that those involved with it feel good about it and its goals. The research, however, says the program doesn't work.
"The main long-term goal of the program is to stop kids from using illegal drugs, alcohol and tobacco. It's a goal I wholeheartedly support, both as a parent and a school board member," Glickman said.
"It is also an area of concern because extensive studies indicate that DARE is not very effective," he added, explaining that the most comprehensive report he could find is a summary and analysis of all the research on DARE commissioned by the Federal Justice Department. This concluded that DARE has a "limited to essentially non-existent effect" on drug use.
Glickman's other main concern is a philosophical debate over the best ways for young people to receive drug education.
"[Some] believe in the deterrent effect of vigorous law enforcement . . . I believe the most effective tool to combat drug abuse is education and active parent involvement," he said.
When youths are cited or arrested for drug use, Glickman said, that initial run-in with the law can lead them down a "slippery slope" where lesser vices can take on more severe punishment because of the initial mark on the youth's record.
Along with the benefits of education and family involvement, Glickman added, Triad Community Services' confidential counseling and referral services are another valuable asset to all district students and may help prevent troubled youths' involvement with the law.
Los Gatos Police Chief Larry Todd supports DARE, as does Interim Superintendent Steve Peck, who offered a "strong recommendation" that the board move to approve DARE at its Feb. 14 meeting.
Daves Avenue principal Cleo Osborne also addressed the board that night to express her support of DARE and to share positive comments from many Daves Avenue parents. DARE had been offered by the Sheriff's Department at Daves Avenue the past three years, while the district's similar program, Here's Looking at You 2000, was offered in all district schools to students in other grades, up to grade six.
When Monte Sereno fell under the jurisdiction of the Los Gatos Police Department last year, district administration and Home and School Club parents met with police to discuss the department providing DARE. If so, the police would provide fifth-graders with 17 classes one hour per week taught by school resource officer John Campos, who was certified to teach the curriculum following an 80-hour training course. There is no cost to the district.
"No one claims that DARE is the answer to all our social problems, particularly with substance abuse, but it's clear that DARE has a very positive track record," Todd told the Los Gatos Weekly-Times. "Studies show it has a positive effect on the attitudes of youth and provides them with skills to deal with peer pressure and other factors that may lead to substance abuse."
Todd added that he has spoken with the principals of all Los Gatos schools and that they all support DARE. Coupled with the district's current Here's Looking at You 2000 program, Todd said DARE would be very effective.
"We think we've reached a well-researched, well-reviewed conclusion that would be beneficial to the children," he said.
Peck has been doing his own research over the past weeks and will present all of the information and recommendations he has found for DARE at the board's March 13 meeting.
"Following the February meeting, I met or talked with a number of individuals, all of which only confirmed my recommendation to the board," Peck said.
He has spoken with the State Department of Education, which he said viewed DARE as a viable and positive program when part of a more comprehensive approach to substance abuse, such as the Here's Looking at You 2000, Skills for Adolescence and Triad options already used in the district.
Peck also received support for DARE from seventh-grade teachers using the Skills for Adolescence program, as well as from Community Against Substance Abuse chairwoman Vicki Thorburn and a college professor from Ohio who has conducted much research on DARE.
"My recommendation is un-changed," said Peck.
At the Feb. 14 board meeting, member Bruce Berwald had agreed with Glickman that additional information was in order before they could make an appropriately informed decision. Member Tom O'Donnell said he had confidence in DARE and was ready to vote, although he understood the value of looking into other options. Member Steve Parsons did not express feelings against the program. Board president Rebecca Dawson was in favor of it.
The board is scheduled to make a decision on DARE at its March 13 meeting at 7:30 p.m. in the Daves Avenue Library.
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, March 13, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved