D.A.R.E. stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education and is an educational programme directed to equip elementary school children with the skills to recognize and resist social pressures when confronted with challenges to try tobacco, alcohol. and other drugs.

D.A.R.E. uses uniformed law enforcement officers to conduct the class. Shelburne Police are presently teaching this programme to the grade 6 students at Hyland Heights Elementary School.

The primary goal of D.A.R.E is to prevent substance abuse among school age children, trying to target and age when children are most receptive to drug prevention education and before they are likely to have experimented with tobacco, alcohol and drugs.

D.A.R.E. is a world wide programme, providing skills to resist social pressures to experiment in substance abuse; to enhance self-esteem, to teach positive alternatives to drugs, to develop skills in decision making and conflict resolution, and to build interpersonal and communication skills.

D.A.R.E. has been taught in the community for several years now, with positive feedback from parents and teachers. Shelburne Police welcomes the opportunity for this type of positive community involvement.