Joliet Herald: “Every Penny helps Plainfield D.A.R.E. endure”
November 20, 2009
PLAINFIELD — The idea of armed police officers walking through grade-school corridors didn’t sit well with many educators in the 1980s.
Police officers weren’t too keen on the idea, either.
State Rep. Tom Cross and Plainfield police Chief Bill Doster listen as Siegel talks about the DARE program. Cross presented the program with a donation from Sanofi-Aventis.
(John Patsch/Staff Photographer)
Plainfield police Chief Bill Doster was part of a group from Illinois who traveled to Los Angeles to meet with police there who created the D.A.R.E. concept.
“Our job was to lock people up, not prevention,” Doster said. “(D.A.R.E.) changed the whole dynamic.”
The village of Plainfield began its D.A.R.E. program in 1989.
Now school administrators and teachers work with officers to make the program as relevant to the kids’ lives as possible.
In addition to lessons on illegal drugs and alcohol, the program includes talks on topics such as Internet safety and abuse of over-the-counter and prescription drugs.
“We’ve talked about dropping D.A.R.E., and the feedback was they like to see the officers in the building,” said Cathie Pezanowski, director of curriculum and instruction for Plainfield School District.
Today, several people from Plainfield are involved with the program on a statewide level.