Drug Abuse Resistance Education

D.A.R.E. was welcomed back into the Tomah Area School District. The D.A.R.E. program has dramatically grown over the years. Not only does the program generate discussion on the effects of drugs and alcohol, but it also helps children navigate through various situations. D.A.R.E. focuses on important skills such as effective communication and listening, working through stressful situations, peer pressure situations and responses, and what to do when observing or being bullied.

The D.A.R.E. program is mainly being taught in the Tomah Area Elementary Schools as well as the parochial schools in the city. The instructors for D.A.R.E. are Sergeant Audra Gomez and Officer Jayden Olson. You can contact these instructors with any questions about the D.A.R.E program at (608)374-7400.

The D.A.R.E. curriculum is broken down into ten 45-minute lessons. The lessons are as follows: Lesson 1- Introduction to D.A.R.E.’s keepin’ it REAL; Lesson 2- Drug Information for Responsible Decision Making; Lesson 3- Risk and Consequences; Lesson 4- Peer Pressure; Lesson 5- Dealing with Stressful Situations; Lesson 6- Basics of Communication; Lesson 7 Nonverbal Communication and Listening; Lesson 8- Bullying; Lesson 9- Helping Others; Lesson 10- Getting Help from Others and Review.

The lessons are taught to fifth graders at schools throughout the Tomah School District. Lessons are geared toward engagement from the students to generate a positive learning environment. Students are provided with a planner to work through each lesson where they include individual or group activities. Each lesson is ended with the saying “Be Safe and be responsible”.