Yesterday, Sheriff Austin Garrett, School Resource Deputy and D.A.R.E. Instructor Joseph Dangler, and the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office School Resource Deputy Unit, in conjunction with the administration of the Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts (CSLA), hosted a DARE graduation ceremony for students who recently completed the program.
This graduation class signifies the third academic year D.A.R.E. has been taught at Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts and during today’s inaugural event, 86 students graduated from the program. By the conclusion of this school year, approximately 1,000 students will have graduated the program county-wide since it was re-instituted in our schools in 2022.
“This marks the third D.A.R.E. graduation to take place at Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts (CSLA) and this program has become an important part of their yearly curriculum. My administration recognizes the significant impact of the D.A.R.E. Program, not only in combating drug addiction among youth, but also in instilling essential life lessons and values. Given the alarming rise in overdoses and overdose-related deaths across our state and nation, as well as the increase in juvenile violence, there has never been a more crucial time to teach and expand the D.A.R.E. Program in Hamilton County,” stated Sheriff Austin Garrett.
In order to be a DARE Instructor, potential candidates are vetted by DARE mentors responsible for training new law enforcement personnel. The candidate must also be a POST-certified, uniformed law enforcement officer with at least two or more years of service and must successfully complete a rigorous 80-hour training course conducted by mentors with a significant number of years of classroom experience, as well as university-level educators from colleges of education. This coursework does not include the many additional hours of study and after-hours work required to test for the certification.
“I am extremely proud of School Resource Deputy and D.A.R.E. Instructor, Joseph Danger, for his hard work and dedication to the safety and education of the students at CSLA,” Sheriff Garrett further noted.
The HCSO would like to thank the administration and staff at CSLA as well as the Hamilton County Department of Education for their support in making this program possible for students.
For more information about the DARE Program, please visit: https://dare.org
