The D.A.R.E. Program was implemented by the City in August 1996. The purpose of our D.A.R.E. program  is to educate our elementary students on the dangers of using Drugs and Alcohol.  Since then D.A.R.E. has proven to be a valuable learning tool in educating our children to say no to Drugs and Alcohol.  D.A.R.E. teaches our children that popularity can be found in positive behavior, that belonging need not require them to abandon their values, that self-confidence and self-worth comes from asserting themselves and resisting destructive temptations.  D.A.R.E. teaches them not just that they should refuse drugs and alcohol, but how to do so.  D.A.R.E. gives our children the tools they need to build a better, fuller, more satisfying life.  They are our children.  Our future.  Our legacy.  And we all want the same thing for them, the best.  We want their futures to be bright, and secure, and healthy, and safe.  And we want them to succeed.  To join us in the worlds of business and commerce, law and medicine, manufacturing and selling, teaching and serving.  That's why we care. . .  About their ability to cope with the challenges of life in contemporary America. . .  About their capacity to resist the negative influences around them, to focus instead on their strengths and their potential.  That's why we D.A.R.E.