Local fifth graders enjoyed a day of swimming last week at the Mesquite Recreation Center to celebrate their graduation from the D.A.R.E program

By Vernon Robison

Moapa Valley Progress

A party was held on Tuesday, June 7, for local fifth graders who have met the requirements to graduate from the D.A.R.E. program. The swimming party and lunch barbecue was held at the Mesquite Community Center and was attended by about 160 students from Grant Bowler Elementary and Perkins Elementary schools.

Founded in Los Angeles in 1983, the D.A.R.E. program has proven so successful that it is now being implemented in 75 percent of the nation’s school districts and in more than 43 countries around the world.

To graduate from the program, local students are required to attend a series of classes presented by Metro officers during the school day. Officers Mark Harding and Allen Johnson teach the local students once a week over a period of nine weeks.

“The program gives the students an education on illegal drug use and how different drugs can affect and damage their bodies,” said Harding. “We also cover how to deal with peer pressure and show them how to say ‘no’ to drugs in different situations.”

Harding explained that the program requires each of the students to write a D.A.R.E. report, an essay recapping what they have learned in the class.

“We end the program with each student taking a pledge that they will not do drugs,” Harding said.

If all of this is completed, the fifth graders earn the privilege of attending the pool party at the end of the program, Harding said.