Nixon Elementary Students Graduate From D.A.R.E Program

Sudbury Police Officer Ronald "Rocky" Conrado was among numerous speakers who honored 76 Nixon Elementary School students on May 10.

Those students gradated from the D.A.R.E. program, which teaches substance abuse prevention and violence.

Among the speakers was former Boston Celtic Walter McCarty, who told a story about his relationship with his father, who was an alcoholic.

McCarty's father was viewed as a great boxer, who's friends told Walter at a young age his father could beat anyone.

"The one thing he couldn't beat was being an alcoholic," he told the students. "You can all beat anything if you make the right decisions."

The D.A.R.E. curriculum is designed to be taught by police officers whose training and experience gives them the background needed to answer sophisticated questions often posed by young students about drugs and crime. Prior to entering the D.A.R.E. program, officers undergo 80 hours of special training in areas such as child development, classroom management, teaching techniques, and communication skills. Forty hours of additional training are provided to D.A.R.E. instructors to prepare them to teach the high school curriculum.