New Lee’s Summit Police program replacing D.A.R.E in KC area schools

LEE’S SUMMIT, Mo. — Lee’s Summit Police said it’s built a new curriculum tailored to the needs of youth in the community.

They’re working with schools to teach student life skills first. Then, have conversations about a hard topic, drugs.

One student said it’s made a difference at Pleasant Lea Middle School in Lee’s Summit.

IMPACT – that’s the name of the program Lee’s Summit Police officers developed after looking for a replacement for D.A.R.E. Now, Lee’s Summit is not the only school district using it.

“Whose actions are you taking responsibility for?” Glover asked.

“Yours,” he responded.

This is impact officer Beth Glover’s 5th-grade class at Cedar Creek Elementary in Lee’s Summit.

She’s one of four Lee’s Summit officers who teach “IMPACT”, a prevention program their Youth Services Unit helped develop to replace the D.A.R.E. Program, which has previously been taught in schools for decades.

“The core content of the D.A.R.E. program hasn’t been updated since 2009,” Glover said.

“And we were looking for more flexibility where we could see developing trends in our community and apply them to the classroom right away.”

Launched in 2022, Glover said the curriculum focuses on what students need to know to navigate life’s pressures in the here and now.

They talk about emotion regulation, risk management and problem solving.

After laying that foundation, Glover said it was time to dive into drug topics of alcohol, nicotine, marijuana and opioids.

“Impact is a prevention program, it’s custom-tailored to the needs of youth within our community,” Glover said.

“So, we worked with our community stakeholders to find out not just what drug topics kids need to be aware of but also the different life skills that might need improvement from the youth in our community and we specifically built our program to incorporate life skills first and drug topics second.”

IMPACT officers are responsible for 25 schools in Lee’s Summit. They teach 2nd, 4th, 5th and 7th graders.

Zayd Abdulrahim said he’s seen the positive impacts among his friends.

“Our generation cigarettes aren’t very common, these vapes are coming up, and they didn’t really know much about them, and I feel like IMPACT and Tiger Smart has helped educate a lot of them about the effects of that on the body and how it’s good to stay away from that,” Abdulrahim said.

This 13-year-old is President of Tiger Smart, a club with students who pledge to live a drug-free lifestyle and advocate for inclusivity.

“If you mess up, you fess up,” Glover said.

The impact program has spread beyond Lee’s Summit, Glover said Blue Springs has incorporated it in their schools as well.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.