The Lincoln Police Department supports the DARE program and its efforts to assist youths with sound judgement and decision making, including but not limited to resisting drug/alcohol abuse and prevention of bullying at home, at school and in their community. The Lincoln Police Department has 4 trained DARE Officers. Christy Fruge, Chad Eimer, Jason Rohrer and Christopher Collins.
The D.A.R.E. Program has different curriculums designed for different age groups. The Kindergarten - 4th grade program focuses on safety, recognizing risks and emergencies and how to respond to those situations. It also begins working on problems solving by using techniques that respect their rights and others without using anger and hurtful behaviors. We also touch on not taking medicine without an adult to help you. The 5th - 6th grade curriculum starts to focus on situations kids are faced with and gives kids tools on how to handle them without falling into peer pressure situations. We also teach ways to cope with frustration, anger, and bullying by role playing situations that the kids can act out themselves to better prepare themselves. The 7th grade curriculum focuses on how to get out of situations they are caught up in. We teach the R (refuse) E (explain) A (avoid) L (leave) method which is broken down step by step so kids can have many different tools to use to get away from a situation they find themselves in.
D.A.R.E. also offers a number of enhancement lessons we can teach with the schools if they have a situation that comes up they need assistance with. For example the More Than Sad Curriculum is something taught with the school counselors when a school may have a number of students that are suffering from depression. We also have online and social media safety lessons...which is a daily conversation!
The D.A.R.E. Officers, along with the School Resource Officers, work very hard to make sure every student has what they need to be comfortable in school so they can focus on learning and having fun at the same time. So buying clothes, shoes, supplies, toiletries, and the like has become a huge part of the D.A.R.E. program. It is a major confidence builder for these kids. The stress level for each kid we can help with these things drops tremendously. The bullying has also gone down.
D.A.R.E. Officers are always willing to host or participate in many activities through out the year. They range from buying candy for a school class that has accomplished a certain goal, to hosting a cookout for the whole school, to sending an entire grade, from every Lincoln School, to a Peoria Chiefs Baseball Game. There are to many activities to list, just ask the children of Lincoln.
Senior D.A.R.E. Officer Christy Fruge also serves the D.A.R.E. America Program as the Illinois D.A.R.E. Officer Coordinator. Officer Fruge is tasked with many responsibilities through this assignment, encompassing the entire State of Illinois. With Officer Fruge;s selection as the D.A.R.E. Officer Coordinator, Lincoln became the D.A.R.E. Officer Training hub for the D.A.R.E. program statewide. This 80+ hour training is required by D.A.R.E. America for certification of all new D.A.R.E Instructors and provides successful graduates with authorization to deliver copyrighted D.A.R.E. curricula for elementary and middle school programs, parent and community programs, as well as several enhancement lessons. The focus of the training is to provide instructors with the skill necessary for successful classroom instruction and student learning.
LINCOLN D.A.R.E. SPECS FOR SUCCESS
The Lincoln City Council voted on May 6, 2024, to allocate a percentage of the Cannabis Sales Tax, the City receives, to the Lincoln D.A.R.E. Program. Officer Christy Fruge knew that the new allocated funds would help the Lincoln D.A.R.E. Program in its dedication to the youth of our community. The Specs for Success Program is just one of the ways to help the students of Lincoln better themselves and give them tools to improve their future.
How the idea for this program started was because it was brought to Officer’s Fruge attention, by a students’ teacher, that a student was having a hard time seeing the front of the classroom. When Officer Fruge asked the student about maybe the student needing glasses, the student stated that her family did not have vision insurance and was having a hard time finding the extra money to buy glasses for the student. Officer Fruge talked with other teachers and was informed that this is a common issue. Officer Fruge went to BARD Optical, here in Lincoln, and starting working with them to start the Specs for Success Program. BARD Optical is providing a complete package of Exam, Lenses and ‘Value Plus’ Frames at an affordable price to Lincoln D.A.R.E. There are additional options at a discounted price, payable by the patient. No outside Rx’s are accepted and the patient must have an approved form from the Specs for Success program. If the patient has vision insurance, BARD Optical stated they would accommodate the patient and Lincoln D.A.R.E. with pricing.
The forms have been given to the teachers of all Lincoln Schools. A student can inquire about the program to their teacher, who will fill out a form and send it to Officer Fruge or Officer Rohrer. They will approve the form and give the approved form to the student. The student will then give it to their parents and they can go to BARD Optical to get an exam and glasses. BARD Optical than sends Lincoln D.A.R.E. the invoice and a student gets to have the ability to see clearly their future successes.
City of Lincoln