by David Flint
Sixty-seven fifth graders at Berlin Elementary School received their diplomas from the DARE Program on Friday, January 29. D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) is a series of classroom lessons that teaches children from kindergarten through twelfth grade how to resist peer pressure and live productive drug and violence-free lives. The lessons are led by a law enforcement officer – in Rensselaer County by Sheriff’s Deputy Jim Phelps.
DARE lesson plans focus on providing accurate information about drugs, alcohol and tobacco, teaching students good decision-making skills, showing students how to recognize and resist peer pressure and giving students positive alternatives to drug use.
DARE officers work with children to raise their self-esteem, teach them how to make decisions on their own and help them identify positive alternatives to drugs.
Phelps introduced the honored guests, County Executive Kathy Jimino, Undersheriff Pat Russo, Stop DWI Coordinator Chuck Wojton, BCS Interim Superintendent Charlotte Gregory, School Board Member Liz Miller and Guest Speaker Daniel Packard, Principal of the Walter B. Howard Elementary School in New Lebanon.
Kathy Jimino congratulated the students and commented how impressed she was with the posters that were on display in the school hallway. Winners of the DARE Poster Contest were Taylor Meyer, Garrett Fiske and Kiley Bush.
DARE Student of the Year award went to Alex Flowers. Phelps said the award was based on how well a student exemplified the three R’s of the Rensselaer County DARE program – Respect for others, taking Responsibility and acting as a Role
model for others. Alex, he said, had shown that he was prepared to move on to middle school ready to deal with peer pressure and temptations.
Winners of the DARE Essay Contest, Christina Shupe, Chelsea Crane and Joann Popov, each read from their essays. A common theme was the realization that drugs, which lead to violence and are bad for one’s health, must be avoided and peer pressure to the contrary rejected if a youngster expects to achieve his or her dreams for the future.
Following presentation of certificates to each of the graduates, Daniel Packard, who graduated from Berlin High School “many years ago,” told the kids he had many fond memories of Berlin schools – music class, basketball, singing, field days, the 50-yard dash. He congratulated the essay writers for articulating so well what it means to be a DARE grad. These are not one-time decisions, he reminded them, but are decisions made for life. He picked up on the theme of achieving your dreams and spoke specifically of how he and his closest classmates had been able to achieve theirs having committed themselves to resist drugs, alcohol abuse and violence.
Accompanied by music teacher Josh Greenberg and featuring trumpet duet of Ioann Popov and Michael Zlotnik, the DARE grads sang for their audience’s delight a rousing rendition of “We Are The Future”. Principal Michelle Colvin gave the closing remarks with a special thank you to the Berlin Elementary PTO for purchasing the DARE T-shirts worn by all the graduates.
Given reports that the DARE program has been cancelled in cash-strapped Saratoga Springs, Deputy Phelps was asked after the ceremonies whether funding for DARE in Rensselaer County might be in jeopardy. Phelps, for whom DARE is a full time job and whose salary is paid by the County, responded that County Executive Jimino is very pro-active about the program and there has been no suggestion made about cutting it.
