ANAHEIM : Schools’ Anti-Drug Program Gets Grant

The Anaheim City School District has been awarded state grant money to continue an anti-drug program in district schools.

The Police Department will receive about $75,000 from the district for an officer who will be assigned exclusively to the city’s elementary school district as part of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or DARE, program.

Currently, the grant money pays for one full-time officer, and the city pays for a second officer.

The full-time officer will regularly teach drug education classes to the district’s fifth-grade students and also will be responsible for teaching the other elementary school children similar classes on an occasional basis.

Last year, the 21-school district expanded its DARE program to two officers. Though all schools had some type of drug education classes, just three had participated in the program. Last year’s expansion brought that number to 13, with about 1,100 fifth-graders participating in the program.

District officials said they hope the additional officer will help the program become a mainstay of school curriculum. Citing the current success of its DARE program, the district sought funds for a permanent officer who can continue the course and also talk with students during breaks and lunch hours.

“I feel it’s a really good program,” said Nadine Skutnik, drug education resource teacher for the district. “We’ve had a lot of positive feedback from both the parents and the teachers.”

The district also has applied for federal grant money, which would allow it to pay for four full-time officers, enough to extend the program to all fifth-graders in the 21 schools.

Skutnik said the district will be informed sometime this fall if it is awarded the grant money.