Project DARE targets fifth and sixth grade students because they are more susceptible to the pressures to use drugs than younger students. Eighteen Los Angeles police officers are assigned full-time to classrooms, and all officers are selected based on their human relations and communications skills. These officers use activity-oriented techniques to involve students in group discussions and role playing exercises. DARE counselors, school administrators, nurses, guidance counselors, and police officers conduct and evaluate group discussions on improving student attitudes and behavior. Traditional scare tactics preaching the harmful effects of drugs are de-emphasized in the DARE curriculum. Instead, DARE tries to teach students that being an adult really means standing up to peer pressure, making one's own decisions, and learning to cope with life's problems in positive ways. Project DARE is independently evaluated at the end of each semester by surveying principals, teachers, and parents; evaluations to date have been very positive. Many DARE students show academic and behavioral improvement while participating in the project, even though the DARE curriculum was not specifically designed for these areas. A longitudinal survey has been initiated to evaluate 2,000 DARE students and 2,000 non-DARE students entering the sixth grade.