D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) is a highly-acclaimed program that gives kids the skills they need to avoid involvement in drugs, gangs, and violence. The program involves a series of classroom lessons led by police officers that teaches children how to resist peer pressure and live productive drug- and violence-free lives. Pierce County's D.A.R.E. program is run by the Pierce County Sheriff's Office in cooperation with local law enforcement agencies and schools. One officer teaches K-5th graders at eight elementary schools in the five local school districts.