MIDDLE/JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL D.A.R.E. PROGRAM

During the 1989 – 1990 school year approximately 50 D.A.R.E. officers from 24 school divisions implemented the D.A.R.E. curriculum at the Middle/Junior High School Level. During the 2006-2007 school year, officers presented this level of D.A.R.E. to 15,011 students. Since implementation, 554,896 students have completed the Middle/Junior High School D.A.R.E. Program.

In February 2001, D.A.R.E. America in conjunction with the University of Akron received a grant from the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation in Princeton, NJ. These grants were presented for the purpose of re-writing the Middle/Junior High curriculum as well as conduct a five-year study and evaluation of the effectiveness of the new material. As with the revised elementary curriculum, the new Middle/Junior High has shifted delivery style from instruction to facilitation and is vary activity orientated and “hands on” in its approach.

The revised D.A.R.E. Middle/Junior High School Lessons are as follows:

In addition to the above listed lessons, two optional add-on lessons dealing with the misuse of prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs are now available.

The initial response to the new curriculum has been extremely positive and the evaluations from the study have been very strong. D.A.R.E. America has completed the of a five-year longitudinal study with the results indicating a very strong and positive effect on the participants. All results are being compiled and to date indicate a strong impact on the normative beliefs of high risk students. These results will be published as soon as all data has been examined. The new curriculum has been implemented in Virginia.