Franconia Township Police Department D.A.R.E.

Francoina Township Police Department DARE

The History of D.A.R.E.

D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) is an innovative program designed to prevent substance abuse through education. It was developed in California under the auspices of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), in association with the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).

On January 18, 1983, Chief of Police Daryl E. Gates called upon the Los Angeles Unified School District to join with the Los Angeles Police Department in establishing an anti-drug education program in the elementary schools. Dr. Harry Handler, Superintendent of the LAUSD, agreed that a cooperative effort by police and educators was needed to fight this growing problem. As a result of this agreement, a task force of LAPD and LAUSD personnel was created to develop the program that was named “D.A.R.E.”

D.A.R.E. uses a curriculum model that is targeted at helping students recognize and resist the many pressures that influence them to experiment with alcohol and drugs. The project focuses on feelings related to self-esteem, communication skills, decision-making and positive alternatives to drug abuse behavior.

The D.A.R.E. program began with ten trained officers in California. Today, the D.A.R.E. program is being taught in eighty percent of the school districts nationwide and in 54 countries, positively impacting over 36 million children worldwide.

The Franconia Township Police Department, in conjunction with the Souderton Area School District, implemented D.A.R.E. in Franconia and West Broad Street Elementary schools during the 1993-94 school year.

The program expanded to the Vernfield Elementary School when it opened in the 2003-04 school year. Currently, all of the elementary schools in the Souderton Area School District are receiving the benefits of the D.A.R.E. education program.

Chief Joseph Kozeniewski, known then as “Officer Joe”, was one of the first to teach the D.A.R.E. education program. He taught hundreds of local students at Franconia Elementary from 1993 to 1997. He is currently the Police Chief of the Police Department, and continues to be a strong supporter and believer of the D.A.R.E. program.

Retired Officer Dave Shaner also began teaching the D.A.R.E. program in 1993. He began teaching at West Broad Street Elementary, and took over Franconia Elementary as well when Officer Joe became the Chief. He continued teaching D.A.R.E. until his retirement in 2003. He still continues to attend events to support the D.A.R.E. program and the D.A.R.E. students.

The Franconia Township Police Department currently has one officer dedicated to teaching the D.A.R.E. program at our local elementary schools.

Officer Dave Klepfer began teaching in 2003. He teaches the D.A.R.E. program at the Franconia and Vernfield Elementary Schools. He also serves as the Police Department’s School Resource Officer and, when not teaching the D.A.R.E. program, he works at Indian Crest Junior High School.

Officer Dave works to create, organize, and operate all of the D.A.R.E. and related programs throughout the year in the township. This includes the National Night Out Against Crime celebration every August, a winter and spring D.A.R.E. skate night, the annual Bike Rodeo, D.A.R.E. Graduation, the Retro Bill Tour, Danger Stranger assemblies, Alcohol Awareness Program, and the Internet Safety Program, just to name a few.

Officer Dave, along with the support of the township, police department, parents, teachers, administrators, students, and local businesses, make the D.A.R.E. program what it is today. During its 16 years in the township, the D.A.R.E. program has proven to be a vast success, and the Franconia Township Police Department Officers will continue on their journey to reach out to as many young people as possible, as they are our future.

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