Cape May Parents D.A.R.E. to Keep Program

CAPE MAY — “How D.A.R.E. they!” was on the mind of a group of parents at the Cape May City Elementary School when they presented a petition to the City Council at its meeting on July 19. A notice circulated throughout the school community stated, “The D.A.R.E. program at Cape May City Elementary is in jeopardy and without community support there is a great chance that Officer Tony Genaro, known to students as Office Tony, will not be returning to the school this upcoming school year.”
Genaro has been the school’s D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) officer for over eight years. During that time he has become an integral part of the school community.
“I think he’s a great role model for our kids,” said Christy Ward, the mother of Ian, who just completed the fifth grade D.A.R.E. program. “Officer Tony goes above and beyond. The kids look up to him and admire him.”
Many of the students at the school are children of parents who are in the Coast Guard whose parents are away. According to Ward, of the twelve students in her son’s fifth grade class last year, ten were children of Coast Guard members.
“My husband was out on a patrol boat when my son was in Pre-K,” said Ward. And my son remembered Officer Tony and what he did.”
Genaro’s involvement in the community reaches beyond the four walls of the school building. He is involved in the city’s National Night Out program as well as DJ’ing at school functions. Genaro, the father of two sons, also volunteers in his off-hours as a leader for his sons’ Cub Scout pack.
At question seems to be the number of police officers assigned to street duty versus a police officer assigned to the school.
“We now need to evaluate the number of police officers we have in the school and on the street,” said Cape May Administrator Bruce MacLeod.
During his time away from the D.A.R.E program, Genaro is a patrolman. “He does work patrol,” said Cape May Chief of Police Diane Sorantino. “He does patrol work throughout the summer and into fall.”
Having Genaro on the streets as a full-time patrolman may have been precipitated by the loss of a position through attrition. A recently retired full-time patrolman has not been replaced.
With tighter financial constraints on municipalities, many have taken a long, hard look at budgets and personnel, however D.A.R.E. programs are not usually on the chopping block. Much to the relief of parents, the Cape May City Elementary School D.A.R.E. program will return for the upcoming school year.
“There is going to be a restructuring of the program,” said MacLeod. “And that will be done in conjunction with the Chief of Police and the school board.”
Sorantino is firmly committed to having a D.A.R.E. program in the school. “We want that good role model out there,” she said. “That’s what it’s all about. During budget times it (the D.A.R.E. program) did get talked about, but I am very committed to these programs. Working with the community and the children is very near and dear to me.”
Currently the state of New Jersey requires that a school district teach 10 hours of drug and alcohol education in the classroom, according to Nicholas DeMauro, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of D.A.R.E. NJ. A school district does not necessarily have to offer a D.A.R.E. program, but the majority of school districts throughout the state opt to participate.
According to DeMauro, a sworn officer of the law must teach a D.A.R.E. program. That officer must have completed an 80-hour D.A.R.E. training program before he or she can present the D.A.R.E. curriculum.
“On a moving forward basis, we’d like to see other members of the police department participate in the D.A.R.E. program,” said MacLeod, “so that they (the students) know other police officers.”
Cape May Superintendent Victoria Zelenak told the Herald, “D.A.R.E. represents a positive effect on the police force as someone they (the students) can trust.” As to same D.A.R.E. program coming back to the school, “We’ve been very happy and would love to see the program reinstated, but we understand there has to be compromise.”
As the summer draws to a close and the number of visitors to Cape May dwindles, “it becomes a philosophical issue,” said DeMauro. “Is a cop more valuable on the street or in a school during the school day?”