D.A.R.E. officers now instruct this curriculum in over thirty area schools. D.A.R.E. strives to maintain positive relationships between law enforcement, students, teachers, parents and other members of the community. Trained police officers teach lessons in drug resistance and violence avoidance techniques. The curriculum is administered or offered to all elementary schools, public and private, in Overland Park. The Kindergarten through fourth grade visits acquaint the students with the D.A.R.E. officer and provides a foundation for the seventeen core lessons they will receive in the fifth or sixth grade.
Effective interaction is also a major part of the program.
Officers interact with students by attending lunch, recess, school functions and outside activities at their respective schools. Although officers salaries are funded by the police department's annual budget, other items such as workbooks, videos, and other supplies which enhance the program, including the promotion of outside activities for D.A.R.E. students, are quite costly. Private and corporate donations to the Overland Park Police Department's D.A.R.E. Unit help in making the overall quality of D.A.R.E. even more meaningful for students.