D.A.R.E. program to be presented to fifth graders in Waukon with new approach and timeframe this year
How D.A.R.E. they care ... Waukon Police Department D.A.R.E. Officer Alyssa Rostad (right) stands with former Waukon Police Chief Loren Fiet (left) this past spring at the first D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) graduation ceremony held in Waukon since Chief Fiet was in charge of the program prior to his retirement in 2004. Officer Rostad brought the program back to Waukon schools this past spring and has plans for an even more impactful program this school year. Submitted photo.
by Jennifer Bissell
After more than a 20-year hiatus, fifth grade students in Waukon are now learning the principles of the D.A.R.E. program, thanks in part to the Waukon Police Department and specifically Officer Alyssa Rostad.
Last spring, Rostad, with the support of Police Chief Paul Wagner, brought back the D.A.R.E. program to St. Patrick School fifth grade, East Elementary School fifth grade, and the sixth graders at Waukon Middle School. She’s looking forward to getting back into the schools again this fall, bringing valuable education to the fifth graders at East and St. Patrick’s.
WHAT IS D.A.R.E.?
Seeing a need for a drug resistance education program that began with elementary-aged children, the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles Unified School District launched the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program in 1983. The program aims to give school-age children skills and confidence to avoid a dependence on drugs, gangs and violence. The classroom lessons are led by a police officer, and lessons include how to resist peer pressure and live without drugs and violence.
BRINGING IT BACK TO WAUKON
Officer Rostad grew up in Houston, MN. After graduating from Simpson College in 2023, she was hired by the Waukon Police Department and attended the Police Academy. She finished that program in March of 2024.
Officer Rostad brought her passion for working with youth - and the experience she gained through two internships with child-centered activities - to her role in Waukon. She was accepted into the D.A.R.E. training program at Camp Dodge in Johnston, where she received D.A.R.E. training for about a week and a half. It was a crash course in teaching and learning the program.
“They’re very selective in who they pick. Considering Waukon used to have the program and we wanted to get it back into the schools, that’s something D.A.R.E. Iowa was really looking for. They’re very supportive of their first-year programs and implementing them,” she said.
BACK IN CLASS
After completing the training in the fall of 2025, Rostad consulted with the principals of the three schools she wanted to present the program in last year to work the training into the schools’ schedule.
“The principals were great. They were very helpful with letting me take an hour out of their week,” she said.
Because it was the first year getting back in the program, Rostad decided to expand beyond the fifth grade classes and also offer it to the sixth graders at Waukon Middle School.
To read the full article, pick up the Wednesday, September 16, 2026 print edition of The Standard or subscribe to our e-edition or print edition by clicking here.
