Elm Creek Elementary Students Get Lesson on Peer Pressure

DARE. officers-in-training spoke with students at Elm Creek Elementary School in Maple Grove on Thursday.

It’s an opportunity for the trainees to learn how to teach on the job, and bring important lessons to area students. 

While the program’s been around since the 1980s, it has changed since then from the “this is your brain on drugs” campaign. Officer Laurel Slawson said the program now goes beyond drug education and focuses more on life skills for success.

“We’re talking in these classrooms about stress, and dealing with stress and anxiety, and talking about communication and being confident in your communication. We’re talking about ways to handle bullying, we’re talking about ways to resist peer pressure,” Slawson said.

A DARE trainee teaches a class of fifth graders facts about tobacco.

Once officers complete their training, they get certified through the State Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and DARE America. 

Then they’re sent back to their hometowns to continue the work.

Maple Grove