Waukon Police Department to begin implementing new D.A.R.E. program in Waukon schools in early February
D.A.R.E. program returning to Waukon schools ... After several decades of absence, the Waukon Police Department is bringing the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program back to Waukon. The department’s new D.A.R.E. officer, Officer Alyssa Rostad (pictured above), will be working with students from the Allamakee Community School District and St. Patrick Catholic Schools in Waukon to implement the program, beginning in February. Submitted photo.
by Taylor Stock
Peer pressure, decision-making, knowing a risk, saying yes and no; each of these are things that 10-year-olds see every day and learn. Their brains are consistently learning, taking information in, and the most important part - learning right and wrong.
The Waukon community has recognized, and is recognizing today, how important it is for the community’s young people to have the experience, tools and mental process to mold right and wrong. Approximately 20 years ago, the Iowa D.A.R.E. program was a part of the local school district’s curriculum; getting ahead of the chokehold that drugs can take on humans, giving young minds a foundational base for how to recognize the presence of drugs, and say no.
Today, in 2026, the D.A.R.E. program is beginning again in the Waukon community. The program is refreshed - not just looking at drug presence, and how to educate young minds with the impact of drugs, and how to say no. The program is diving into thought processes, decision making, vaping, peer pressure, and the many other things that youth today face in their young lives.
The Waukon Police Department and Officer Alyssa Rostad see the importance of getting this program back into schools, and back into kids’ minds. Following completion of her own training as a D.A.R.E. instructor in October of this past year, Officer Rostad is planning to begin the program in Waukon schools at the beginning of February this year, and it is scheduled to wrap up near the end of April.
Officer Rostad has a great amount of passion for the program. After her schooling and training in the program and learning what it strives for, she has goals and visions for what she could implement in the local community. She wants there to be importance in every stage of the program, and for the kids to see relevance in what she is teaching, as much as possible in their own lives.
“It’s ten lessons. The first class that I’ll teach will be for fifth graders at the schools in Waukon, and I’m hoping to get the program implemented at the high school as well. St. Patrick School and each elementary school will be involved.”
To read the full article, pick up the Wednesday, January 14, 2026 print edition of The Standard or subscribe to our e-edition or print edition by clicking here.
