Stoddard County Sheriff’s Department to expand D.A.R.E program to all seven county school districts

DEXTER — The Stoddard County Sheriff’s Department will conduct D.A.R.E. classes at all seven Stoddard County Schools for the first time starting with the 2020-21 school year.

D.A.R.E. , which stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education, was founded in 1983, educates students on the dangers of drugs and alcohol and empowers good decision making.

“We go in and teach one day a week for 10 weeks,” said Stoddard County Sheriff’s Deputy Lori O’Dell. “The curriculum teaches about decision making, tobacco and alcohol and illegal substances.”

O’Dell along with Deputy Andrew Johnson instruct the classes in the Stoddard County Schools. The core classes are targeted at students in the fifth grade.

Each session lasts about an hour. The officers will go to each fifth-grade classroom separately at each school. The program is designed for about 25 students at a time.

“There is a lot of interaction, a lot of role playing,” said O’Dell. “They have their decision-making model so it is really set up for 25 kids at a time.”

The education part of the program lasts for the first nine weeks. On the 10th week a graduation ceremony is held for the students.

This will be the first time since 2016 the program will be taught at Dexter Schools. At that time O’Dell was the instructor for the program during her tenure with the Dexter Police Department.

“We believe this program is informative and beneficial for our students,” said Central Elementary Principal Angie Duncan about the program’s return to Dexter. “We are excited to have the opportunity to provide it for our fifth-grade students.”

O’Dell and Johnson were required to attend two weeks of training to be certified as D.A.R.E. instructors.

“We are looking forward to it; we are absolutely looking forward to it,” said Johnson. “The kids love it.”

The signage on the department’s D.A.R.E. vehicle has been redone by Christian Memorial for the upcoming school year.

“Up until last year they (O’Dell and Johnson) did this on their own time; they did not even get paid for it,” said Stoddard County Sheriff Carl Hefner. “They did it all on their own time.”

Hefner explained that in the past, the schools would chip in and help pay the expenses for the program. Now the sheriff’s department can fund the program as well as pay O’Dell and Johnson to instruct the students.

O’Dell instructed the program for 14 years, three with the sheriff’s department and Johnson has been an instructor for nine years, seven with the sheriff’s department.

“They have been very dedicated to get out and do this on their own time,” said Hefner.

“I would still do it for free,” said Johnson. “The sheriff supports us very well ... he is a champ at it. He supports us, we appreciate that.”