DARE Program remains strong at Nevada

This story is part of a series on United Way agencies in Vernon County

By Noah Jones

Nevada Daily Mail

The DARE program taught in schools has evolved to help make the best influence possible on students in regards to drugs, violence and criminal activity.

Nevada R-5 school resource officer, Sgt. Dan Miller, said he loves his job.

Miller, works as the DARE officer, and begins teaching the 10-week DARE curriculum starting in January. He said the classes are one hour a week.

"It's a straight forward curriculum, power point presentations on a plethora of topics from drugs to decision making," Miller said.

Started in 1982 in Los Angeles, Miller said the idea was to help kids understand what kind of things they needed to keep away from. The program, which has been revamped several times, Miller said, was last changed in 2008.

"The focus changed to teaching kids how to not only say no to the use of drugs," Miller said. "We teach our students to define the problem, assess what the options are, respond to the situation by making a choice and assess what happened."

Miller said the biggest issues in rural schools are prescription pills, as opposed to use of marijuana and alcohol.

"Some of the research I've seen for schools in rural areas show students abuse pills; It's not about use, it's about misuse. That is what the DARE program is against: the misuse of prescription drugs and alcohol. We don't want to put a blanket on the use of all drugs. It's the same as vandalizing a sign. That would be the misuse of that sign."

The DARE program is funded wholly by United Way, Miller said. Miller said they supply workbooks, hand-outs, prizes and gifts for the students going through the program. Miller said one of the most important things they do is support the program each year.

"They help keep [the program] going," he said.

Miller is serving his fourth year in the Nevada school district as the school resource officer. He became a police officer in 1993, and started as an SRO in 2001. His duties include checking the building and student's security and safety, designing and setting up drills and monitoring any criminal activity in the school. He said he enjoys his job because he gets to see students everyday. One of his priorities, he said, is improving relationships between the Nevada community and law enforcement.