Two neighboring police departments have dared to be different in their approach to helping students make smart choices about drugs, bullying and the technology-influenced realities of being a kid today.

Like most towns, Waterford and East Lyme participated in the national Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or DARE, program during its heyday around the turn of the millennium. But Waterford in the early 2000s decided to write its own book on prevention education, and East Lyme stole the curriculum in 2017.

That’s according to East Lyme School Resource Officer Don Hull, anyway. Waterford police Chief Marc Balestracci this week laughed off any allegations that Hull obtained the two-inch binder through an act of thievery.

“We’re more than willing to share our curriculum if other towns or departments are looking to start something up,” Balestracci said. “I think it’s a hugely beneficial program for everyone involved, and we’re very proud of what we’re doing with it.”

The initiative originally known as the Challenge program was devised by Waterford’s Youth and Family Services and police department. It has since been rebranded as Youth Promise.

Both men said the DARE departure came out of the need for a more customizable approach that extends beyond teaching kids not to use drugs and alcohol. Today, that means addressing problems like vaping in the bathrooms and broadcasting private information across social media. It also means having the flexibility to confront new problems as they evolve.

DARE over the past decade unveiled an updated curriculum called “keepin’ it REAL” that addresses some longstanding concerns about the original program. But while it now focuses on good decision-making rather than rote abstinence, the DARE model remains associated in some minds with the mantra of the nation’s failed War on Drugs.

“The old ‘Just Say No,’” Hull recalled. “We all realize it's not that easy; it’s not that simple. That’s what I love about the Challenge program. It just leaves it all open to conversation.”

The popular ’80s slogan emerged during the Reagan era as part of the first lady’s anti-drug campaign. She was reported by the Associated Press explaining the origin like this: “A little girl raised her hand and said, ‘Mrs. Reagan, what do you do if somebody offers you drugs?’ And I said, ‘Well, you just say no.’ And there it was born.”

Hull, a police officer who started his career in Old Saybrook more than three decades ago, has been in the local school system for almost eight years.

“The DARE program is fine. It works for a lot of people. It has for a long time,” Hull said in a phone interview. “I just kinda had a different approach when I was going into the schools. I was kinda looking for something different.”

Hull said 10-year-old students in his fifth-grade classes come in expecting to talk about drugs and alcohol, only to be met with an introductory lesson on self esteem. Then come lessons on healthy relationships, stress and peer pressure. The understanding lays the groundwork for the heavier discussions toward the end of the session on bullying, vaping, drugs and alcohol.

He described his approach, taught against the backdrop of his own regularly updated Google slideshow, as less “canned” than traditional DARE materials that emphasize workbooks and videos.

Hull said he is certified by the Connecticut Police Officer Standards and Training Council to instruct classes as a police officer. The certification is not specific to youth prevention programming like a DARE certification would be.

Balestracci said one factor that sets Waterford’s program apart from DARE is a full partnership with the town’s Youth and Family Services.

Balestracci and Hull emphasized prevention education doesn’t end in fifth grade.

In Waterford, the middle school SRO officer goes into health class at each grade level to talk about topics like relationships, social media, texting and sexting. At the high school, the SRO delivers a 10-week civics program revolving around high-level law enforcement topics such as online harassment, drug charges, impaired driving, and search and seizure laws.

Balestracci said social media usage remains “a huge concern” in town and a major focus of age-appropriate prevention efforts from elementary school through high school.

“We try to get ahead of it at the elementary level, reinforce that at the middle school level, and then really have some blunt conversations at the high school level,” he said.

e.regan@theday.com