Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – (July 26, 2025) – Two Jonesboro Police Department officers have graduated from DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) training and will join the DARE effort in area schools this fall.
Officers Jordan Fowler and Carlos Miller completed DARE education at an officer training event in Little Rock. The training is open exclusively for the state of Arkansas law enforcement officers with a minimum of two years of experience as a certified law enforcement officer.
The University of Arkansas Little Rock MidSouth received a grant from the Office of National Drug Control Policy to support drug prevention efforts for youth in Arkansas. The funding covers all expenses, training fees, materials and food and lodging for the officers being trained.
Officers Fowler and Miller will join other JPD full-time DARE Officers Lynae Prater and Aaron Dowdy in the classroom this fall.
The Jonesboro Police DARE Program reaches approximately 1,200 5th grade students each year, in three school districts (Jonesboro, Nettleton, and Valley View) and two private schools (Blessed Sacrament and Ridgefield Christian School) according to the JPD website. A DARE officer visits each class for an hour each week for 10 weeks. Each week’s visit focuses on a specific topic:
Week 1: Introduction and tell the students about the DARE Decision Making Model (Define, Assess, Respond, and Evaluate)
Week 2: Drug Information for Responsible Decision Making (talk about Alcohol and tobacco)
Week 3: Risks and Consequences
Week 4: Peer Pressure
Week 5: Dealing with Stressful Situations
Week 6: Basics of Communication
Week 7: Nonverbal Communication and Listening
Week 8: Bullying
Week 9: Helping Others
Week 10: Review and Test
All participating students write an essay in order to graduate the DARE Program. The DARE officers read every essay and pick a classroom winner from every class. The DARE officers also award a school winner from every school and then pick an overall top essay.