District 200 to pitch changes to DARE
Drug-abuse education continues to be a tennis match of funding versus impact in Wheaton area schools.
The ball appears to be back in Wheaton's court after Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 officials this week served up a change to its substance-abuse curriculum, known as DARE.
The change would shift the program to sixth-grade classrooms, placing it in the district's four middle schools instead of its 13 elementary schools.
Bigger classes but fewer schools may address the city's competing desires to keep the program -- and also have a strong police-force street presence. The DARE program is taught by a Wheaton police officer paid for by the city.
District 200 Superintendent Richard Drury said the change would address some gaps in the delivery of DARE.
"Frankly, as wonderful a program as it is, it is being taught in different ways in each of the buildings," Drury said.
The problem stems from the scattering of the district's elementary schools in three different communities. DARE is taught differently in the 10 Wheaton elementary schools than it is at Pleasant Hill Elementary in Winfield. The remaining two elementary schools are in Warrenville, which doesn't provide a DARE officer to the schools.
All four of the district's middle schools are in Wheaton. However, Hubble Middle School will move to Warrenville in about a year. Drury said he expects Warrenville will provide a DARE officer at Hubble if the program change is made.
The change is not yet a formal recommendation, but Drury said he would pitch it to Wheaton city staff.
On Thursday, Wheaton City Manager Don Rose and Wheaton Police Chief Mark Field only acknowledged that discussions are ongoing.
However, city councilman Howard Levine said he spoke with District 200 staff Thursday, and he believes the issue is over.
Levine said city and school-district officials are on the same page -- and that teaching DARE to sixth-grade students won't happen.
The councilman said the DARE program will remain at fifth grade next year. Indeed, that's the version of the program the majority of the city council said it supported last week. That's before the idea of moving the program to sixth grade became public.
Levine said he doesn't believe the switch to sixth grade is a viable option, but the city council ultimately will vote on DARE funding as a part of the new municipal budget.
"At this point, I believe our preference is at fifth grade," Levine said. "That is what I support. I haven't seen anything to suggest sixth grade would be a better option. I believe the city's position is we're happy to provide the program at the fifth-grade level."