VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - The Virginia Beach Sheriff's Office (VBSO) today graduated the first Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) class in a decade, with 32 students at Star of the Sea Catholic School successfully completing the curriculum.
As a private institution, Star of the Sea is the first school in Virginia Beach to bring back the program, which was cut in 2015 due to budgetary restraints. Sheriff Rocky Holcomb is asking the Virginia Beach City Council to reinstate funding to return DARE to Virginia Beach City Public Schools.
In anticipation of the program’s return, Holcomb in August sent 10 deputies to complete the two-week DARE certification training. Two of those deputies – Master Deputy II Karen Walsh and Deputy Eric Osborne – began teaching the curriculum at Star of the Sea on Feb. 28. They taught two classes of fifth graders for one hour every Friday for nine weeks.
DARE’s mission is to teach “students good decision-making skills to help them lead safe and healthy lives.” The curriculum includes lessons in drug abuse, peer pressure, communication, bullying and much more. The newly formulated program also teaches kids conflict resolution, de-escalation, self-esteem, critical thinking and decision-making, emotional awareness and self-control.
“We must act now to reverse the troubling crime trends we’re seeing in our community. The key is to teach kids these important lessons while they’re young, before they develop bad habits,” said Holcomb. “Studies show that the revamped DARE program is more effective than in the past, with DARE students being less likely to use drugs than their peers. Beyond preventing drug abuse, DARE fosters essential skills, such as communication and positive interactions with authority figures, including law enforcement. These are all crucial for our children's healthy development and the safety of our community.”
Holcomb on March 7, 2024, sent a letter to the Virginia Beach City Council requesting that it allocate funding to reinstate DARE in Virginia Beach elementary schools. It cost $780,000 per year in 2015. The current cost is estimated at around $1 million per year.
Star of the Sea Catholic School, located at 309 15th St., is a private, faith-based school for pre-Kindergarten through eighth grade.