It's not just teaching kids, but working with parents in supporting kids in making healthy choices. Lynn Garric, safe schools manager at the county Office of Education, added that the message needs to be delivered in a variety of ways to make the greatest impact on the most students. Some students will be motivated by the legal consequences. Other students will be more motivated on short-term effects on health. One of the alternate programs Petaluma City Schools is reviewing has marijuana workshops for parents and the community in addition to students, said Tammy Cotter, substance abuse prevention specialist for both Petaluma and Sonoma State University.
Police cite individual examples of success as evidence of the program's success.
But they concede the curriculum can be improved. DARE America offers 10-week programs for seventh and ninth graders but with the exception of St. Vincent de Paul Elementary School, none of Sonoma County's schools use DARE in secondary school. Police chiefs in cities that don't teach DARE classes said the program is too expensive. Exact numbers were unavailable, but cities that use the program spend tens of thousands of dollars in materials and officer time annually. But even if the city provided the funds, he said he prefers using drug education specialists to teach the lessons.