D.A.R.E.
ABOUT THE D.A.R.E. PROGRAM
The Munster Police Department HAS NOW COMPLETED 35 YEARS of presenting the D.A.R.E. Program to our community's children. Our program has become an important part of our children's educations as they begin to make important decisions that could affect the rest of their lives. Munster brought the D.A.R.E. Program to our schools in 1988.
D.A.R.E. teaches kids how to recognize and resist the direct and subtle pressures that influence them to experiment with alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and other drugs. And since in between 70% and 90% of all crime is drug-related, it is absolutely vital that we reach the children of American before it is too late.
Officer Terry Jostes (left) was the Munster Police Department's FIRST D.A.R.E. Officer and served from 1988 to 1994. Current D.A.R.E. Officer James Ghrist (pictured right) was presented with the D.A.R.E. Indiana Officer of the Year Award by Chief Steve Scheckel in 2015. Officer Ghrist is a graduate of the Munster Police Department's FIRST 5th grade D.A.R.E. class at Elliott Elementary School in 1988, which was instructed by Officer Jostes.
THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL D.A.R.E. CURRICULUM
Presented by D.A.R.E. Officer James Ghrist, this curriculum is presented at three public (Eads Elementary School, Elliott Elementary School, and Frank Hammond Elementary School) and two parochial (St. Thomas More School and St. Paul's Lutheran School) elementary schools each year. Through this program our department has frequent interaction with students in kindergarten through fifth grade.
D.A.R.E. Officer James Ghrist provides the elementary D.A.R.E. lessons along with middle school D.A.R.E. lessons to the 8th grade students at the parochial schools
Students in kindergarten, first, and third grade are presented with lessons on following rules and laws, obeying their parents, internet safety, wearing seat belts and bicycle helmets, calling 911, stranger-danger, and more.
Fifth grade students participate in the main D.A.R.E. curriculum which includes lessons on drug abuse, risks and consequences, managing stress, communicating effectively, bullying prevention, making positive choices, and resisting peer pressure.
Fifth graders are also able to meet with D.A.R.E. Role Models from Munster High School who offer positive advice to the students about resisting peer pressure while also answering their questions about middle school and high school. The fifth graders also write D.A.R.E. essays which describe what they learned from the program and contain their commitment to stay drug-free.
Fifth graders completing the main curriculum are invited to participate in a D.A.R.E. Graduation Ceremony at their home school which include certificates, awards, special speakers, and a reception attended by parents, students, police officers, and school officials.
THE MIDDLE SCHOOL D.A.R.E. CURRICULUM
D.A.R.E. Officers James Ghrist & Kevin Cooley displaying drunk driving simulation carts which are used during the 8th grade curriculum and various community events to help discourage drinking and driving.
Instructed by Officer James Ghrist and Officer Kevin Cooley, the middle school D.A.R.E. curriculum is presented to eighth grade students at Wilbur Wright Middle School, St. Thomas More School, and St. Paul's Lutheran School. The lessons are formatted for older students but reinforce the same safety message regarding peer pressure, drug abuse, and making positive choices. Like the fifth grade curriculum, the eighth grade curriculum includes workbook activities. Officer Ghrist instructs the program at the parochial schools while Officer Cooley instructs it at Wilbur Wright Middle School. Lessons also include the use of "Drunk Buster" drunk driving simulation carts which were donated by the Munster Rotary Club and American Community Bank.
D.A.R.E. EVENTS & CONTESTS
Approximately 400 Munster students participate in Snowflurry each year at Wilbur Wright Middle School
Snowflurry is held each February or March at Wilbur Wright Middle School. The event is held as an extension of the police department's D.A.R.E. Program and involves hundreds of fifth graders each year who are led in a variety of both fun and educational activities led by volunteer Munster High School students such as games, snacks, community service crafts (led by the Munster Junior Woman's Club), peer mentoring, and more. The event, which is also supervised by school staff members and D.A.R.E. officers, concludes with a closing ceremony attended by parents.
Munster students have won the state-wide D.A.R.E. Indiana Essay of the Year Contest a number of times during the past fifteen years: Henry Wolf (2010), Brooklyn Kuna (2018), Eva Pramuk (2019), McKenna Willis (2020), and Christian Stanley (2023).
Munster students have also won the grand prize in many recent D.A.R.E. Indiana Poster Contests: Indigo Moran (2007), Casey McNulty (2016), Caitlyn Companik (2018), Tommy Burk (2019), and Laein Choi (2023).
Frank Hammond Elementary School teacher Melissa Strohl (left) and Chief Steve Scheckel (right) received the D.A.R.E. Indiana Educator of the Year Award and D.A.R.E. Indiana Law Enforcement Executive of the Year Award, respectively, in 2021 during a ceremony held at the Indiana Governor's Mansion in Indianapolis.
D.A.R.E. PROGRAM SPONSORS
The Munster Police Department's D.A.R.E. Program is completely funded through donations from local residents, businesses, and community organizations. Our generous sponsors are displayed below:
Program sponsors are also listed on D.A.R.E. Graduation program handouts and through other various social media publications throughout the year. If you would like to help support our D.A.R.E. Program, please make checks payable to the Town of Munster (memo: DARE) and mail them to the Munster Police Department, c/o Officer James Ghrist, 1001 Ridge Road, Munster, IN 46321. Thank you in advance for your support!
For more information about our D.A.R.E. Program, please contact D.A.R.E. Officer James Ghrist at 219-836-6639 or jghrist@munster.org.
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