winning dare essay

DARE Essay Winner 2017

And the Winners are….. Each year the best DARE Essays from around Wisconsin are submitted. Here are the winner for 2018

DARE Officer Sandy Brown  Area 1 Essay Winner Mary Grace Schlifske, Elm Grove Chief Jim Gage

D.A.R.E Report

By, Lindsey Eis

D.A.R.E… Drug, Abuse, Resistance, Education is a program that is directed to focus on the prevention of the future use of tobacco, drugs, and alcohol for young adults. D.A.R.E was formed to educate young adults about the risks of tobacco, drugs, and alcohol to prevent future use of it. D.A.R.E also focuses on communication skills, resistance strategies, bullying and many other life situations. The D.A.R.E abbreviation meaning Define, Assess, Respond, and Evaluate is a way to making safe and good decisions in a difficult or bad situation. Which if made the right decision can also prevent the future use of tobacco, drugs, and alcohol.

DDMM The abbreviation DDMM stands for D.A.R.E Decision Making Model. The D.A.R.E Decision Making Model is Define, Assess, Respond, and Evaluate and is a way to making safe and good decisions in a difficult or bad situation. The Define part of the model means to describe the problem, challenge, or opportunity. Next the Assess part of the model means for you to think what are your choices. ln the Respond part of the model you need to make a choice by using the facts and information you have gathered. Finally the Evaluate part of the problem means to review your decision and for you to think did you make a good decision. Finally l now know after this very helpful lesson in D.A.R.E that every time I am in a bad or difficult situation l know and should use… DDMM.

Resistance Strategies Resistance Strategies are strategies to stay away from a difficult or bad situation. Some resistance strategies are to walk away, say no, avoid, change the subject, give an excuse, and there is always strength in numbers. Resistance strategies can be used in bullying situations or in situation that you don’t want to do something that could hurt or affect you in the future or now. in your resistance strategies, you always want to be away from the situation in good, alcohol free, drug free, and tobacco free surrounding. Many of these situations happen in real life and anyone should always use these strategies if you want to live a happy, healthy life for l know that l do.

Risks of Tobacco, Drugs, and Overuse of Alcohol A risk can be positive or negative but the risks of doing these drinks, plants, and powders under the age of 18, none of them are positive. There are many different health effects and scary facts about these things that will make me or anyone think twice about using them. Some of the health effects of tobacco are… ‘  1. You can get arrested for the use of it under the age of 18  2. There are 200 known chemicals in cigarette smoke  3. There are 400,000 deaths each year due to the use of tobacco

Some of the health effects about alcohol are…  1. You can get arrested for the use of it under the age of 21 2. lt causes memory loss, loss of coordination, and slow reflexes

Some of the health effects of drugs are…1. if you overdose you will have a risk of death or other conditions2. You can get arrested for the use of it at all

This information is important because it can prevent the start of tobacco, drugs, and alcohol. It can also help people stop these things and help them live a happy healthy life. This has affected me a lot because l want to live a full life for we only have 1.

‘The 5’s and How to Report Bullying What is bullying… bullying, according the D.A.R.E writers, is an aggressive or unwanted behavior used again and again to isolate, harm, or control another person.~ This is a ham1ful and mean act that’s why you should always know how to report it. There are many different kinds of bullying some of them are…1.      Cyber2.      Mental3.      Verbal4.      Physical5.       Social

The 5’s of reporting bullying are who, what, where, when, and why. These are to help anyone tell a trusted adult about WHO did it, WHAT did they do, WHERE did it happen, WHEN did it happen, and WHY did they do it. Resistance strategies can also be used in these situations, not just situations involving tobacco, drugs, and alcohol. Now l know whenever l am being bullied l know to use the 5 w’s of reporting bullying, resistance strategies and other strategies to help me deal with and report bullying.

How to Deal With Peer Pressure

Peer pressure is a hard thing to deal with, but you should always try to push through. Peer pressure according to the D.A.R.E authors is when people your age try to get you to do something. lf you are having troubles resisting you can always use DDMM and resistance strategies to help you push through. Peer pressure can also be positive not just negative, pushing you to do drugs, tobacco, and underage drinking. The positive peer pressure can be pushing you to do better on a test or pushing you to do something new like a new sport. This has affected me so much because now‘ l always remember to do what l believe not what others believe l should do.

Confident Communication

You should always use confident communication. lt can help you with your social skills, when you ask people questions, and to help you get your point across. in using this strategy, you should always talk or discuss in a calm and cooperative way. You can also use DDMM in this strategy as well to help you figure out what to say and to help you say it clear. This lesson in D.A.R.E has helped me a lot to speak more confident and more efficiently.

Signs of Stress Stress according to the D.A.R.E authors is any strain, pressure, or excitement about a situation or event. There are many different signs or stress some of them are…1.     Depression2.     Loss of hair3.     Anger4.      High blood pressure

Some of the actions due to stress are…1.     Yell2.      Stay still3.      Over eat4.     Throw things or items

You can always use different strategies to help you deal with stress like to use a stress ball or to hang out with friends. This has helped me a lot because now l know if l am stressed to talk to someone or if l should use those strategies to push through it.

Help Network

A help network according to the D.A.R.E authors is a person or a group of people that you can call for advice or guidance. A help network can be a friend or any trusted adult. You ‘should always go to you help network when you need them it can help you make safe and good decisions. You can go to your help network anytime you feel uncomfortable or threatened in a situation or just for any life problems. This information is important because this can help any person know that they should always go to their help network for advice or help. Now I know that if l have any problem that l should always go to my help network for help.

Tattling vs. Telling

Tattling and telling are two totally different things. Tattling according to the D.A.R.E authors is when you want to get someone in trouble for a harmless behavior. While telling is to provide information to a trusted adult to help someone or to keep someone safe. DDMM can also be used in these situations to help anyone decide if it is tattling or telling. I used to tell a trusted adult if it was tattling or telling but after the lesson in D.A.R.E I realized that I don’t always have to tell only when it is to keep someone safe or to just help them. I have learned so many skills in D.A.R.E that have helped me so much with many of my life situations and will help me with so many more in the future as well. All of the lessons will and have helped me make healthy decisions about tobacco, drugs, and the overuse of alcohol. The lessons have given me facts and many different health effects that have made sure I was never going to do any of those things. There are also many different skills I have learned in D.A.R. E. Like how l have Ieamed of how to stay away from situations that could affect me in the future to how to report bullying and other situations. I have also learned how to access situations using DDMM, different signs of stress and how to deal with it, and so many other skills and strategies. I am so glad to have finished D.A.R.E with so much new knowledge in my brain.

Pledge Statement

I Lindsey Eis, pledge not to do drugs, tobacco,  or alcohol in my lifetime and ruin my chance at a full happy life. ‘

My D.A.R.E.

Report By: Jaylee Weyhrauch

Did you know that there are over 200 harmful chemicals in cigarette smoke? In fact, there are even over 4,000 chemicals. ln the US 16.8% of Adults smoke, but we can lower this number even further. Smoking is very bad for your body. Does having cancer sound fun to you? Because there are 43 known cancer-causing chemicals in cigarette smoke. The smoke alone can kill you! There are also toxins, in fact, there are over 400 other toxins. In cigarettes, there are ingredients that you would never think that people would enjoy like nicotine which can make you addicted in a bad way. Nicotine is also the main ingredient in bug spray. In fact, once you start getting addicted, if you try to stop, you will feel very bad. Imagine the worst stomach flu, now think of that ten times worse. That is how hard it is to stop once you are hooked. There is also carbon monoxide in these death sticks. lt is a colorless, scentless, tasteless gas. Symptoms of mild carbon monoxide poisoning include lightheadedness, confusion, headache, and flu-like symptoms. It can also make it seem like the world is spinning. Ln severe cases carbon monoxide can even infect your central nervous system, introduce toxins to your heart, and even kill you. lf you are exposed to low levels of carbon monoxide for a long time, it can result in permanent damage like depression, memory loss, and confusion. Cigarettes have more than just that, they also have ammonia. Ammonia is a colorless, irritating gas that has a sharp odor that can cause irritation and burns. It dissolves easily in water to create ammonium hydroxide solution. Normally people who smoke don’t mind this noxious odor. That’s still not all. The cigarettes contain formaldehyde which is also in glue, plywood, fiberboard, and insulation materials. Formaldehyde is also a chemical that is in all the animals that the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth grade classed dissected this year. I would never eat glue, would you? Now imagine you saw a truck laying down pavement for your driveway. Would you go up to the driveway and take a bite of the squishy stuff? I bet not. But that is exactly what you would be doing if you took a cigarette and smoked it. Cigarettes have tar. Tar is a very bad thing to put into your body. It will start off fine, being stopped by your tiny nose hairs, or cilia, that stop bad things from going into your lungs like dirt or dust, but the tar will burn them away and infiltrate your lungs. From there it will coat your lungs over and over with small thin coats. Since there is nicotine, which I told you about earlier, you will want more and more. Soon, there will be many layers of tar, your lung surface Will be so small that your lungs will go from as big as a shoe box to as small as a tennis ball. That would be very hard to breathe with.

In D.A.R.E. I also learned that alcohol is also very bad for you. In fact, there are an estimated 75,000 alcohol related deaths each year. Alcohol is illegal for anyone under 21 years old. Alcohol slows down your brain and results in loss of coordination, poor judgement, memory loss, loss of self-control, and slow reflexes. Alcohol can also be addictive. In fact about 18 million people abuse alcohol. This is awful but we can make a stand!!  We need to fight against this terrible substance. But before you go home and tell your parents they can never have alcohol again, I want to tell you that a little bit every now and then is okay, but if they drink all the time, it’s about time to stop the damage. Alcohol, as l told you earlier creates poor judgement, therefore, many people die of alcohol related deaths each year including about 1,580 deaths from motor vehicle crashes, about 1,296 deaths from homicides, 245 from alcohol poisoning, falls, burns, and drowning, and 492 from suicide or killing themselves. Added up this is about 10,613 alcohol related deaths each year from young people abusing it. The reason young people can’t have alcohol is because they are still growing and it can harm them. They also aren’t as mature. Most people think that alcohol will make you look cool, but waddling around, puking on yourself, and passing out is not cool. Alcohol also causes bad breath and weight gain. If you’re under twenty-one, drinking is illegal. If you are caught, you will have to do community service, pay a fine, or take alcohol awareness classes. You may also get bad grades. Some reasons why teens think it’s okay to drink are advertising, social status, peer pressure, peer example, and family example. These have been going down in the past few years, but WE can end it all together!!!!!l!l!!!!!Thanks for listening to my presentation, and remember, We are the generation to stop drug abuse!!!!l!!!!!!

Report Lilly Ackerman

Did you know that alcohol weakens the heart muscle, and decreases the amount of blood that is pumped through the heart?  The D.A.R.E. program has helped me learn facts like this, and how to make safe and responsible choices.

The very first day Officer Weaver talked about how to use the D.A.R.E. decision making model. By defining a problem, assessing your choices and responding appropriately, then evaluating your response, you put yourself in a better position than you were before.  We practiced this model in the many scenarios that we read. Officer Weaver also taught us health related facts like, there are 75,000 alcohol related deaths each year in the U.S.

This teaches us that when we are older we need to drink responsibly. Another topic he talked about was stress. Stress is the strain, pressure, or excitement that is felt about a certain situation. Stress can also be very harmful ta your health.

I recently used the D.A.R.E. Decision Making Model when I was at a swimming pool. I used it by taking a look at my situation, which was identifying my challenge. My challenge was trying to figure out whether I should get in the water with my cousins before my parents got down to the pool. I was very tempted to get in because my cousins kept telling me to come swim. Next, it was time to assess my choices which were to get in the pool without an adult in the room and get in trouble, or stay out of the pool and wait fox’ an admit. After thinking about it I chose to stay out of the pool. 1 was glad I made that choice because instead of being in trouble with my parents, I was complemented on making the right choice.

Another time I had to evaluate a sticky situation was when my sister came to me asking for advice. She had overheard a friend talking about something that shouldn‘t have been said, I helped her think about what she should do and I also told her that I thought she should go and talk to our mom. In the end this advice worked and she was relieved that it all worked out, and she wasn’t in trouble because she found help.

I also used the Decision Making Model on the soccer field when my teammate was being unsportsmanlike I knew my three choices were to be a bystander and do nothing, talk to her, or tell my coach.  After thinking about it I chose to talk directly to her. In the end this chaise worked because I was able to talk to her about how being unsportsmanlike was not okay and hurt our whole team. She understood why she shouldn’t do what she was doing and she stopped. This was better than telling the coach because she didn’t feel like she was in trouble. The D.A.R.E. model has really helped me improve in making the right choice and has given me a way ta also help others make those same choices.

I plan to use what I have warned in my D.A.R.E. program to five a healthy and safe life. I can use my knowledge to make responsible choices and remember the facts about stress, alcohol, drug, and tobacco use. The D.A.R.E. program is a great model to follow when it comes to sticky situations and may come in handy next year in middle school.

I have also realized that D.AR.E. is really important because life is going to be full of challenges that may lead me in the wrong direction. At some point in my life alcohol and drugs will be introduced and l will have to be smart and not feel pressured to do something I don’t want to do or that is not healthy for me. Life will also be full of stressful moments that I will need to know how to stay away from Trying to do activities that won’t cause stress will be very important. In my future I plan on being some type of doctor. D,A.R.E. will help me do this because I now have the knowledge to keep my body healthy and that knowledge will allow me to share this information with my patients. I “DARE” you to live a drug, alcohol and tobacco free life.

I Choose DARE 

by: Olivia England

Did you know that my dad died from drugs? He isn’t the only one either.

Unfortunately, 75,000 alcohol related deaths occur each year in the U5! Two health effects of alcohol are memory loss and loss of self-control. Sometimes, it can even lead to coma or death.

Some of the DARE skills t learned in the past ten weeks are how to say no to alcohol. l learned to say no through the DARE Decision Making Model. (DDMM) The DDMM is Define, Assess, Respond, and Evaluate.

Define means to describe the problem, challenge, or opportunity. Assess means to ask yourself. what are my choices? Respond means to make a choice by using the facts and information you have.

Lastly, Evaluate! Evaluate means to review your decision, did l make a good choice?

One of the many types of bullying is Cyber Bullying. I’ve been cyber bullied by someone I know. It was on an app on my ipad. It wasn’t very fun, but l got over it. Two things that helped me overcome it was all of the bystanders that stood up for me! Also, my parents gave me inspiring talks! When we were talking about bullying in DARE, it brought back some hurtful memories, but it also cured my hurt! Now l feel better about it! That’s all thanks to DARE! L will use my DARE skills in the future if I ever run into another case similar to that one!

The best thing I learned in DARE was the health effects of tobacco and Alcohol use. It helped me because if someone I know were to use it, then maybe they would stop! If only everyone didn’t do drugs, then to me, the world would be complete!

I Olivia England, solemnly swear never to use drugs or to be a bully to anyone for as long as I live.

DARE essay winners recognized

July 2, 2022

The annual fifth-grade DARE graduation celebration took place at all three elementary schools in the Highland district prior to the end of the school year, with a total of 258 graduates combined.

Each school also announced its winners of the DARE essay contest during their program. Again this year, the contest focused on writing a letter to their older self, explaining what they learned in DARE, and some even reminded their older self to live a drug-free life and make good choices. The winning essays were read aloud and each winner was presented with a certificate. 

The essay winners include:

• Colleen Rees, Sarah Mellinger (overall winner), Olivia Martello, Tristan Lind, Katelyn O’Flanagan and Lily McManus at Granger Elementary
• Sharon Winners: Miles Miller, Kaylee Reep, Camarie Carter, Aubrey Payne (overall winner), Amelia Price, Brynn Vandegrift, Aaron Davis and Jordan Gryskiewicz at Sharon Elementary
• Reese McPherson, Saphira Melnik, Ellia Whitacre, Max Marcum (overall winner), Logan Conrad, Alicia Grimes, and Eliana Profant at Hinckley Elementary. ∞

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How to Write a DARE Essay

Gina ragusa.

Writing a DARE essay isn't as difficult as you may think. The most important thing you'll need is what you learned in DARE class, some investigative research, and your personal experiences.

Explore this article

• Identify a main idea
• Review your DARE materials
• Do your research
• To begin an essay
• Close the door

things needed

• Computer with an Internet connection or pen and paper
• Your DARE materials along with a highlighter

1 Identify a main idea

Identify a main idea that you want to convey in your essay. DARE, which means Drug Abuse Resistance Education, is about keeping kids away from drugs and alcohol. During your DARE classes, you learned about how drugs and alcohol can impede you from achieving your dreams and reaching your goals. Think about how this message will impact you. Any kind of personal story is always an effective way to communicate what you've learned.

2 Review your DARE materials

Review your DARE materials. You need to review any handouts, booklets, or fact sheets before writing your essay. Because you've already covered the material, skim each handout or sheet and highlight the important facts that you've learned.

3 Do your research

Do your research and write a story about how drugs or alcohol has already impacted your life. You can always obtain additional information about your main idea from the Internet through a search engine. Don't forget to always refer to any source you use! When writing any essay or story, a personal reference is always a great way to grab your audience's attention and illustrate your point. If you have a family member, friend, or loved one who has struggled with drug or alcohol addiction, tell his or her story. Any real-life example that has had an impact on your life or a family member's life is extremely powerful.

4 To begin an essay

The best way to begin an essay is with an outline. Creating an outline will help to keep you on track as you write your essay and guide you through paragraph transitions. The outline can be roughly created on a sheet of paper that you'll keep next to you while you write your essay, either on the computer or by hand.

5 Close the door

Close the door, turn off the TV, and begin to write. Include your title, a paragraph explaining your main idea, and several supporting paragraphs that back up your main idea. Also include a strong conclusion. Summarize your entire essay in your conclusion while letting your audience ponder your message. Use your outline to guide you through your writing, but don't forget to let your words and personality shine through in your words. A DARE essay is very personal, so put some of yourself and your heart into it. Remember, this is your pledge to stay away from drugs and alcohol, so dig deep and think about what this essay means to you.

• Keep your DARE materials handy for reference.
• Include a personal story if you have one.
• If you are hand writing your essay, be sure you use your very best handwriting and keep your paper clean and free of smudges and rips.
• Always use proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation, and don't forget to review and revise your draft until you know it is perfect.
• Let someone else read your esssay to help you edit it.

About the Author

Gina Ragusa has made a career out of writing for the past 15 years, with an emphasis on financial institution writing. Ragusa has written for Consumer Lending News, Deposit and Loan Growth Strategies and Community Bank President. She earned her Bachelor of Arts from Michigan State University.

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Home » Writers-House Blog » Tips on Writing a DARE Essay

Tips on Writing a DARE Essay

The abbreviation DARE stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education. This is an education program aimed to keep students away from drugs and to explain the consequences of drug abuse. When writing a DARE essay, you should address various negative effects of drugs in an informative and engaging way. To write a good essay, check out these tips from professional writers at writers-house.com website.

Many students come up with great ideas for their DARE essays but fail to receive a good grade because of various small mistakes in their writing. Thus, our experts decided to help you write your essay in the right way.

First of all, ask yourself, what is the main message of your essay? The theme of your paper is the most important thing that determines the success of your writing. You should choose a topic that allows you to elaborate on it, making your essay interesting to read.

• Conduct quick research and gather the necessary DARE materials. You may use any materials that address the drug problem, including websites, journals, fact sheets, handouts, etc. Once you’ve collected relevant materials, select the facts that you can use in your essay.
• You should also provide examples from daily life to make your essay more credible. For instance, you can write about your drug-addicted neighbor who lost his family and went to rehab. You can also use information from various case studies.
• Before you start to write your DARE essay itself, prepare an outline. Students approach writing an outline in different ways so we recommend that you check out different methods and choose the one that fits your objectives.
• Once you’ve written a good outline and planned the structure of your essay, write an interesting title that will reflect the idea of your paper and motivate your audience to read your essay. The introductory paragraph is also extremely important because it’s the first thing that your readers see. Grab their attention with a strong hook and introduce your topic. Write body paragraphs, considering your topic in more detail, and summarize your essay in the conclusion.

When it comes to essay writing, little details matter. Make sure to prepare for the writing process in advance. Create an outline, include relevant examples, and collect materials from reliable sources. A DARE essay also allows you to choose a relatively emotional writing style so make sure to use it to your advantage so that you can get a good grade.

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How to Write a DARE Essay

DARE essays are not difficult to write if you are able to conduct research and have the necessary knowledge. You may also benefit from mentioning your personal experiences. Here are some tips from College-writers.com to help you write a DARE essay.

1. Determine the central idea of your essay

DARE stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education, and such classes are aimed to warn kids about the dangers of drugs and alcohol. DARE classes inform students about the impact that alcohol and drugs can have on their lives and careers. Think about it when figuring out the main message of your essay. A personal story is a good option.

2. Check your DARE materials

Make sure to read all booklets, handouts, and sheets before you start to write your essay. Note or highlight the most important facts that you can include in your paper.

3. Do your research

Think of how alcohol and drugs have impacted your life or lives of people you know. Search for additional information on the internet. Don’t forget to include references to any sources that you use. Personal references may help you quickly grab your readers’ attention and illustrate your ideas. If you know somebody who has suffered from alcohol or drug addiction, it can be a good story. Your DARE essay will certainly benefit from any real-life examples.

4. Prepare an outline

Before you start to work on your first draft, prepare an outline. The outline will help you organize your thoughts and plan the structure of your essay in advance. You can jot down the key points and the structure of your essay on a sheet of paper and follow it while writing the essay.

5. Avoid distractions

When writing, avoid distractions. Focus on the draft. Start by writing a title, and then write an introductory paragraph with your main idea. The other paragraphs should support your main idea. You also should write a strong conclusion so that your readers can clearly understand your message. Don’t be afraid to make your essay personal. DARE essays allow you to express your emotions and to focus on your experiences. Think of what you feel about the issue of drug and alcohol abuse, and what this problem means to you.

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Kiwanis Club Doubles Up At Annual DARE Essay Recognition Program

• Thursday, May 27, 2021
• Mitch Talley, Whitfield County Director of Communications

Top finishers for the past two years from Whitfield County elementary schools were honored during the Kiwanis Club of Dalton’s annual DARE essay recognition program on May 17, including (from left, front row) Jocelyn Torres, 2014 winner who returned to talk about the value of the DARE program; Ally Jo Cook, second place, 2020; Kylee Betty, third, 2020; Sarah Kate Tidwell, first, 2021; Myrikal Lay, second, 2021; and McKenna Smith, third, 2021; (back row) DARE instructors Lt. Tammy Silvers, Sgt. Darlene Crider, and Officer Nathan Center; Burt Poston of the Kiwanis Club; DARE instructor Officer Ron Kirby; and Sheriff Scott Chitwood. Not pictured is Shayla Williams of Varnell Elementary, first-place winner in 2020.

photo by Mitch Talley

Jocelyn Torres, who won the DARE essay contest as a fifth grader at New Hope Elementary School in 2014, is now a senior at Coahulla Creek High School. She returned to speak about how much the program has helped her in the ensuing years during the annual DARE essay recognition banquet May 17.

Jocelyn reading her winning essay seven years ago

Sarah Kate Tidwell reads her winning essay during the 2021 DARE essay recognition program sponsored by the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office and the Kiwanis Club of Dalton.

Sarah Kate Tidwell urged her fellow fifth graders to take the DARE program seriously and “use this information in the present and the future.”

The Tunnel Hill Elementary School student shared her winning essay - judged best out of approximately 1,000 written by fifth graders from 13 Whitfield County schools - during the annual DARE essay recognition program sponsored by the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office and the Kiwanis Club of Dalton at the Dalton Convention Center on May 12.

Ms. Tidwell also received a medal, plaque, and $100 cash prize from the Kiwanis Club.

Also recognized during the program were Myrikal Lay, Pleasant Grove Elementary, second place and winner of a medal, plaque, and $50 cash prize, and McKenna Smith, Beaverdale Elementary, third place and winner of a medal, plaque, and $20 cash prize.

Individual winners from the 10 other schools included: - Antioch Elementary - Margarita Cox - Cedar Ridge Elementary - Madelyn Meaux - Cohutta Elementary – Coker Gladson - Dawnville Elementary - Ariana Goodwin   - Dug Gap Elementary - Edwin Franco - Eastside Elementary – Yessenia Botello - New Hope Elementary - Aliana Menjivar - Valley Point Elementary – Kailyn Blanco  - Varnell Elementary – Ellie Teasley - Westside Elementary - Leah Din

Because last year’s recognition program had to be cancelled because of the pandemic, the Kiwanis Club also recognized the 2020 winners at this year’s event, including Shayla Williams, Varnell Elementary, first place; Ally Jo Cook, Cohutta Elementary, second; and Kylee Betty, Dug Gap Elementary, third.

Individual winners from the 10 other schools in 2020 were: - Antioch Elementary – Fernando De Haro - Beaverdale Elementary –  Waelyn Bailies - Cedar Ridge Elementary – Lesly Saldana - Dawnville Elementary – Sarah Wesley - Eastside Elementary – Adeliz Hernandez - New Hope Elementary – Brier Hall  - Pleasant Grove Elementary – Mason Hunter - Tunnel Hill Elementary – Havyn Gleaton - Valley Point Elementary – Stephen Williams - Westside Elementary – Jennie Brooks

A special guest at the program was Coahulla Creek senior Jocelyn Torres, who won the DARE essay contest in 2014 as a fifth grader at New Hope Elementary and will be attending college later this year. She shared her thoughts about the value of the DARE program, noting that she also grew up in a family “that takes life lessons very seriously.”    The 2021 winning DARE essay was written by Sarah Kate Tidwell of Tunnel Hill Elementary:

Did you know that there are more than 200 known harmful chemicals in cigarette smoke? DARE helps you make the right choices, tells you what to stay away from, reporting, and more. DARE is very important because it prepares us for the future. The most valuable lessons in DARE to me are bullying, pressure, and health effects which is what we will be talking about today. When you need to make a hard or important decision use the DDMM which stands for DARE Decision Making Model, which DARE stands for Define, Assess, Respond, and Evaluate.

As you may and should know bullying is very harmful not just physically, but also emotionally. We’re also going to talk about how to report bullying for you, or even a friend. What is bullying you may ask. Bullying is when people are hurting you over and over, like every day, physically and emotionally. If someone was being mean and cruel once, it isn’t really considered bullying. But just because they’re not bullying you, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t report it to a trusted adult. You shouldn’t bully people, it can hurt them especially if you do it physically but emotionally isn’t any better. Some people even commit suicide because of bullying. Treat others the way you would like to be treated because I know you wouldn’t want to be hurt by someone. Now onto reporting safely and responsibly. DARE has taught me how to report with the five W’s of reporting: Who, What, When, Where, and Why. These will help you report confidently, truthfully, and it’s the best way to report. When bullying is going on don’t be a bystander and just watch, help them, stand up for them. What if you were at recess and a kid is making fun of another kid and you don’t do anything? You would be a bystander. I hope this helps you know when bullying is happening and how to report it to a trusted adult for the future.

Have you ever been pressured to do something by someone? There are two types of pressuring that we learned in DARE: pressure and peer pressure. Pressure is when your parents or someone older than you like an adult pressures you to do something. Peer pressure is when someone your age pressures you to do something. Pressure can be good and bad. For example if someone is pressuring you to study, then that’s good. But an example of bad pressure is like a friend is trying to get you to do something you shouldn’t do like drugs, smoking, or even just playing a game instead of studying. So the difference is that pressure is when somebody is pressuring you to do something bad or good, and peer pressure is when someone your age pressures you into doing something good or bad. There are a few strategies to prevent and deal with pressure. One is plan ahead, this will help you to know what you are doing so you can’t be pressured to go with someone else. Another thing is make an excuse, this may not be the best thing but it helps get them off your back. I hope you will use this information to deal with pressure in the future.

Another thing  you need to know is the health effects of smoking, and alcohol effects. You need to know this so you can know why you shouldn’t do it in the future. The worst health effect of smoking in my opinion is heart diseases. Smoking can also cause you to have yellow teeth and bad breath. You wouldn’t want to be walking around with yellow teeth and bad breath would you? Smoking can also cause your skin to be dry and get wrinkles, and get more colds and upper respiratory problems than most people. Could you imagine getting a lot of colds and other problems all the time. Did you know  that nicotine in cigarettes and chewing tobacco reduces the amount of blood that flows to your brain? There are a lot more but now we’re going to talk about alcohol effects. Did you know it’s illegal for anyone under 21 to drink it? There are more than 75,000 alcohol related deaths each in the US. Too much alcohol can slow down the body and lead to coma and death. It goes directly into the bloodstream and can damage every organ of your body. Smoking and alcohol is very bad for you and your health. It is also proven that smokers live 10 years less than nonsmokers.  You wouldn’t want these things to happen to you right? If not then don’t do these things to yourself by smoking and drinking.

I learned all of these facts in DARE. It helped me and I hope this information can help you too. I really hope you will take this seriously. So it’s my hope that fifth graders will use this information I learned in DARE in their future or even right now. We talked about bullying, pressure, and health effects. Please take this seriously and use this information in the present and the future. I Sarah Kate Tidwell, pledge to always make good choices.   The 2020 winning DARE essay was written by Shayla Williams of Varnell Elementary:

Hi my name is Shayla Williams, and I’m going to talk about what I have learned in DARE. I’ve learned that no one should abuse prescription drugs and you should only take them if the doctor prescribes them to you. It can affect your life and can be really dangerous. It is important for me to be drug free because I have a family member who has made bad choices in her life and I’ve learned that the choices she makes are some of the worst choices to choose from because of how dangerous those choices are and can be.

I have a little brother and I want to show him the best role model I can be because I want him to make good choices. I’ve also learned that you have to choose your friends wisely because some of the things they do can be dangerous or their decisions they make are bad and they can peer pressure you to do things that you don’t want to do like smoking, doing drugs, drinking, or being mean to other people. Life is all about making good decisions, when we make bad decisions it can lead to bad situations like going to jail or worse prison.

I’ve learned how to use empathy from this program. That is where you put yourself in someone’s shoes. For instance when you put yourself in people’s shoes it makes you think of how their life is and it can be sad, difficult, or stressful because they may be going through something that we don’t know about and may need to talk to someone.

In closing I would like to say that my pledge is to dedicate myself to staying away from drugs and making good choices and using empathy to help others. I’m here if anyone ever wants to talk about their situations. I want to help people  learn to make good choices and stay away from drugs because I want other people to stay safe and be strong in their choices, so that they too can help others and maybe by doing this we can help the world become a better place.

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Home — Essay Samples — Nursing & Health — Dare Program — A Reflection On The Dare Program

A Reflection on The Dare Program

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The Winners of Our Personal Narrative Essay Contest

We asked students to write about a meaningful life experience. Here are the eight winning essays, as well as runners-up and honorable mentions.

By The Learning Network

Update: Join our live webinar on Oct. 8 about teaching with our Narrative Writing Contest.

In September, we challenged teenagers to write short, powerful stories about meaningful life experiences for our first-ever personal narrative essay contest .

This contest, like every new contest we start, was admittedly a bit of an experiment. Beyond a caution to write no more than 600 words, our rules were fairly open-ended, and we weren’t sure what we would get.

Well, we received over 8,000 entries from teenagers from around the world. We got stories about scoring the winning goal, losing a grandparent, learning to love one’s skin and dealing with mental illness. We got pieces that were moving, funny, introspective and honest. We got a snapshot of teenage life.

Judging a contest like this is, of course, subjective, especially with the range of content and styles of writing students submitted. But we based our criteria on the types of personal narrative essays The New York Times publishes in columns like Lives , Modern Love and Rites of Passage . We read many, many essays that were primarily reflective but, while these pieces might be well-suited for a college application, they weren’t exactly the short, powerful stories we were looking for in this contest.

The winning essays we selected were, though, and they all had a few things in common that set them apart:

They had a clear narrative arc with a conflict and a main character who changed in some way. They artfully balanced the action of the story with reflection on what it meant to the writer. They took risks, like including dialogue or playing with punctuation, sentence structure and word choice to develop a strong voice. And, perhaps most important, they focused on a specific moment or theme — a conversation, a trip to the mall, a speech tournament, a hospital visit — instead of trying to sum up the writer’s life in 600 words.

Below, you’ll find these eight winning essays, published in full. Scroll to the bottom to see the names of all 35 finalists we’re honoring — eight winners, eight runners-up and 19 honorable mentions. Congratulations, and thank you to everyone who participated!

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The American History Essay Contest was established to encourage young people to think creatively about our nation's great history and learn about history in a new light.

This contest is open to students in public, private, and parochial schools, and registered home-study programs. Students in grades five through eight are encouraged to participate. Each year, a selected topic for use during the academic year is announced, and contest instructions are published online and sent to schools by participating DAR chapters. Essays are judged for historical accuracy, adherence to the topic, organization of materials, interest, originality, spelling, grammar, punctuation, and neatness.

Participating chapters send one winning essay from each of the four grades for judging on the state level. The state will send one winning essay from each of the four grades to be judged on a divisional level. The winning essay from each of the four grades will then be judged on the national level and the winners are announced.

Each student participant receives a certificate of participation from the chapter and the chapter winners receive bronze medals and certificates. State winners receive certificates and silver medals. National winners receive special certificates, medals, and a monetary award.

Click here for an informational PDF handout . For additional contest information or guidelines, please contact your local DAR chapter .

Patriots of the American Revolution High School Essay Contest

In preparation for the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding, the DAR has launched the "Patriots of the American Revolution DAR High School Essay Contest.” This contest will focus on the men and women who figured in the events of the American Revolution (1773 – 1783), and it is hoped that students will find Patriots to write about who will interest and inspire them.

These Patriots may be one of our famous Founders, or an everyday man, woman, or child who supported the American Revolution in ways both large and small.  Students will be asked to discuss how their chosen Patriot contributed to the founding of the nation. Essays will be judged for historical accuracy, organization of materials, interest, originality, spelling, grammar, punctuation, and the quality and scope of references, particularly the use of primary sources.

This contest is open to students in public, private, and parochial schools, and registered home-study programs, in grades 9 through 12. Essays from students from all grades will be judged together, with one winning essay chosen at each level. Participating DAR Chapters will select one essay as the chapter winner, to be sent on to the State level; the State will select one essay winner to represent the state for judging at the Division level, and each Division level will also have one winner which will be sent on to the National contest. Each student participant receives a certificate of participation from the chapter and the chapter winners receive a bronze medal and certificate set. State winners receive a silver medal and certificate set. Division level winners receive certificates and a book. National winners receive special certificates, medals, and a monetary award.

The National Society will select first-, second- and third-place winners. The national winner will receive a National Winner Certificate, pin and monetary award, presented at NSDAR’s annual Continental Congress, and the winning essay may appear in official DAR communications. National second- and third-place winners will also receive a certificate and monetary award.

This essay contest is being launched to engage students during the 250 th anniversary of the American Revolution, and is designed to encourage students to think more about the many different people, known and unknown, who were a part of the American Revolution, and perhaps even see themselves in the figures they write about.

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