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Davis Journal

New program replaces DARE in Woods Cross schools

Mar 25, 2021 02:51PM ● By Becky Ginos

WOODS CROSS—For many years the DARE program has been in schools teaching children how to stay away from drugs and alcohol. Now, the Woods Cross Police Department has implemented a new program called NOVA (Nurturing, Opportunities, Values and Accountability) that goes a step further in helping kids stay safe.

“It’s more comprehensive than DARE,” said Woods Cross Police Det. Kimberly Burton. “It’s more lifestyle oriented instead of what DARE focused on which was drugs and alcohol. This covers things like bullying, media, anger management, pornography, e-cigarettes and a portion where we go over sexting. What I really like about NOVA is it is constantly updated.”

NOVA was created by police officers in Orem, she said. “It’s a nonprofit made up of officers and a child psychologist. We can get support from any one of those individuals.”

Burton teaches three different sixth grade classes once a week for 14 weeks at Woods Cross Elementary. “Each week we do an activity in conjunction with a topic,” she said. “For media I wanted them to recognize the feeling bad music causes. I gave them a sucker and told them they couldn’t swallow the spit. I told them the body creates a bad feeling when you can’t spit just like the feeling you get when you listen to bad music.”

They also talk about what makes a hero. “I brought in puzzles that the kids have never seen,” Burton said. “I help them solve the puzzle and tell them that’s what heroes do, they help you solve problems.”

“COVID obviously closed schools last year,” said Woods Cross Police Det. Sean Jones, who is at Odyssey Elementary and Woods Cross High School. “The DARE officer came out and I was reassigned to this position. We decided to change things up and try something new. This is the first school year we’ve done it. I believe we’re the first agency in the county to start it.”

DARE has been around for probably 30 years and it hasn’t changed, he said. “We saw the need for something updated and took it.”

The school was nice enough to give up school time for the class, said Jones. “It’s nice to have the school work with us on it.”

Jones said they’ve had a lot of good interactions. “Kids say they’ve had experiences like this at home. So we talk about it. It’s interesting to see that even as young as they are how well they understand the content. We have an outline of specific points we want to cover, but it’s open enough we can have a good discussion. We do two to three activities each week so they understand the concepts instead of me standing up there and talking all the time.”

Jones said the kids really liked the activity about heroes. “We learned about what a hero is and how they impart knowledge and pattern their life. The kids loved it and had a blast. We sat in a circle and talked. They were very vocal and said their heroes were their mom, dad or grandpa. The more I teach each week the interaction gets better.”

Coming off of patrol and into the schools has been great, said Jones. “I absolutely love interacting with these kids. It helps reset my brain and centers me. It reminds me they’re just kids who sometimes make mistakes but they’re still good, smart individuals. I’m looking forward to the next few years working in the schools.”

“Hands down I would pick NOVA over DARE,” said Burton. “I love it and it’s definitely fun. I’ve made a lot of sixth grader friends.”