Laurel Police D.A.R.E. program proves invaluable | Events

Sergeant Shannon Carraway has been teaching kids how to resist peer pressure and live productive drug and violence-free lives through the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program in the Laurel School District twice a week, off and on for the past six years. She will tell you herself that teaching was not her first aspiration.

“I was fussing and kicking at the idea of teaching. But I have found that teaching is a natural ability for me. I found that I liked talking to the kids about the things that I’m passionate about: crime, drug prevention and overall helping the kids make positive decisions for their lives.”

This year Laurel Middle School students are among millions of school children around the world that will benefit from D.A.R.E., the highly acclaimed program that gives kids the skills they need to avoid involvement in drugs, gangs, and violence. In addition to the core program, D.A.R.E. has responded to the changing needs of the community prevention issues to include lessons on bullying, gangs, Internet safety, prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs and meth. Sgt. Carraway communicates an effective, multicultural middle school drug prevention program that has been shown to reduce alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco use called “keepin’ it REAL.”