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Elm Creek Elementary School fifth graders celebrate DARE culmination ceremony

Elm Creek Elementary School fifth graders celebrate DARE culmination ceremony

Fifth graders at Elm Creek Elementary School spent the last 14 weeks participating in the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program with the Maple Grove Police Department, and they held a ceremony Jan. 10 to celebrate the program’s completion with family and friends. 

Students receiving certificates on stage

DARE is a drug abuse prevention education program intended to give elementary school children skills to resist peer pressure to use tobacco, drugs and alcohol. The program uses uniformed police officers to teach a formal curriculum to students in the school classroom. DARE has been taught in the school district since 1993. 

Large group of students and families in chairs

The ceremony started with opening remarks from Officer Slawson, the DARE officer from Maple Grove Police Department who worked with the students throughout the program. Chief Eric Werner was also in attendance to congratulate students and help hand out the certificates. 

Three students with certificates

During the 14-week programming, students work on a personal commitment essay about taking a stand and resisting peer pressure, drugs and alcohol. Students Thalia Annette, Lukaine Brown and Brooke Olson read their articles in front of their families, teachers and classmates at the ceremony and received a medal from Chief Werner for their hard work. 

Student reading essay on stage

The students also listened to Principal Ness read the book “One” by Kathryn Otoshi and watched a slideshow of pictures from the DARE programming during the ceremony. Each student walked away from the ceremony with a certificate of achievement and the skills to say no to drugs and alcohol!