BRIDGEHAMPTON, NY — Even the youngest students can fight back in a big way against drugs.
Bridgehampton Schools sixth-graders participate in the Drug Abuse Resistance, or DARE, program, the district said.
The DARE program “is the most comprehensive drug prevention program taught in thousands of schools across America. With a mission to teach students good decision-making skills to help them live safe and healthy lives, the program is run in partnership with Southampton Police Department and is taught by Southampton Town Police Officer Eugene LaFurno,” the district said.
According to the DARE website, the program was created after a period during the 1970s and early 1980s when youth faced the challenges of “unparalleled drug abuse.” Los Angeles Police Chief Darryl Gates and the Los Angeles Unified School District in 1983 “began an unprecedented and innovative substance abuse prevention education program,” the website said.
Today, the DARE program consists of thousands of officers and educators across the nation and the world, the website said.
