50 students graduate from

10-week DARE program

February 4, 2010

Fifth grade students at Rae C. Stedman Elementary School have completed the 10-week DARE program, and were honored during a special graduation ceremony last week in the Wright Auditorium. DARE focuses on providing kids with the problem-solving and resistance skills they need to avoid involvement in drugs, violence, and risky situations. DARE stands for drug abuse resistance education.

D.A.R.E. was started in 1983 to help in the fight against drugs in Los Angeles. The program was such a success that it began to spread across the country. D.A.R.E. is now taught in all 50 states and overseas.

Mike Schwarte teaches the DARE program and extended thanks to Principal Erica Kludt-Painter and both 5th grade teachers Jon Kludt-Painter and Dan Sullivan for their support and encouragement in helping the kids embrace the message of being drug free. He also thanked Chief Dale Stone and the Petersburg Police Department for all their support, along with the parents.

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