Based upon more than 20 years of research by the Drug Resistance Strategies Project about why our youth use drugs, D.A.R.E. America collaborated with Penn State University and Arizona State University to create keepin’ it REAL, a state-of-the-art, middle school substance abuse prevention program.
Grounded in cultural norms, the program teaches youth how to live drug-free lives confidently, drawing on the strengths of the students, their families, and communities.
Like the elementary school curriculum, the acronym “REAL” is the central message of the curriculum and teaches youth four ways to refuse drug offers — Refuse, Explain, Avoid, and Leave. These strategies help youth stay away from drugs by preparing them to act decisively and responsibly in difficult situations.
Evidence Based; Proven Efficacious
The curriculum is evidence-based and has been evaluated in a randomized controlled trial and found to be efficacious. The 10-lesson middle-school curriculum is highly interactive, involves multiple media materials that youth find engaging, and, like the elementary school curriculum, is based on Social Emotional Learning (SEL) principles that fit well with current research and practice in teaching middle-school youth.
The rigorous, scientific evaluations of the D.A.R.E. keepin’ it REAL curriculum for students in grades six through nine, show students completing the course evidenced a:
- 32% to 44% reduction in marijuana, tobacco, and alcohol use;
- 29% to 34% decrease in intent to accept substances; and
- Reduction and cessation of substance use.
D.A.R.E. High School Curricula
EVIDENCE-BASED. IMPACTFUL. EFFECTIVE. D.A.R.E.'s high school curricula program consists of three distinct modules that offer educators and law enforcement flexible and cost-effective options for providing students with relevant and timely information and tools to...
Enhancement Lessons
Today’s youth face unprecedented risks that no prior generation has ever faced. In response, D.A.R.E. has created two “enhancement” lessons that supplement other D.A.R.E. curricula and provide important information for parents as well.
D.A.R.E. Elementary School Curriculum
D.A.R.E.’s keepin’ it REAL Elementary School curriculum continues a more than thirty year commitment to providing cutting edge instruction that helps prevent drug use by developing basic, core skills needed for safe and responsible choices…skills that extend well beyond drugs to healthy and mature choices in life.
D.A.R.E.’s keepin’ it REAL Elementary and Middle School Curriculums Adhere to Lessons From Prevention Research Principles
D.A.R.E.’s keepin’ it REAL Elementary and Middle School Curriculums Adhere to Relevant National Institute of Health Lessons From Prevention Research Principles. From www.drugabuse.gov. The principles listed below are the result of long-term research studies on the...
The New D.A.R.E. Program—This One Works
The “keepin’ it REAL” substance-abuse curriculum focuses on elementary and middle-school students’ decisions, not drugs. If you were one of millions of children who completed the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, or D.A.R.E., between 1983 and 2009, you may be...
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Copyright © 2022 D.A.R.E. America. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright © 2022 D.A.R.E. America.
All Rights Reserved.