D.A.R.E.

Overview of Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.)

The D.A.R.E. Program began in Los Angeles, California in 1983. Police Chief Darryl Gates pioneered D.A.R.E. along with the Los Angeles Unified School District and the Attorney General's office. Chief Gates was also the founding father of S.W.A.T., Special Weapons and Tactics, an elite tactical unit of law enforcement. As of 2010, D.A.R.E. is taught in 75% of the school districts in the U.S. and 43 countries.

D.A.R.E. began in Ohio in 1989 in collaboration with the Ohio Education Association, the Ohio Chiefs of Police Association, and the Ohio Attorney General.

Sgt. David Anderson was sent to the Ohio Police Academy for intensive training and was certified to teach the elementary core curriculum. In 1992, the City of Mayfield Heights introduced D.A.R.E. at Lander Elementary School.

In 1994, Sgt. Anderson also became certified for middle school curriculum and started instructing on that level at Mayfield Middle School as well as at Lander Elementary. Sgt. Anderson holds all current certifications at the elementary and middle school levels. He was the first, and as of June 2011, the only, D.A.R.E. office in the city of Mayfield Heights.

Sgt. Anderson, through training, is also a certified School Resource Officer (SRO). He has instructed at:

• Euclid High School
• Mayfield High School
• Mayfield Middle School
• Lander Elementary
• Gates Mills Elementary
• St. Frances of Assisi Elementary
• Richmond Heights Elementary