Contributed by Richland SchoolDistrict One

Dr. Denise Collier

Dr. Denise Collier, principal at Burton–Pack Elementary School in Richland School District One, has been named the National DARE Educator of the Year. DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) is a national program that focuses on giving youths the information and skills they need to avoid involvement with drugs, gangs and violence.

“I am very surprised but also honored to be named the 2005 National DARE Educator of the Year,” said Collier, who also was the SC DARE Educator of the Year for 2003–04.

“Our resource officer, Senior Deputy Debora Hayes of the Richland County Sheriff’s Department and our entire school family have done an excellent job in teaching drug prevention and character education to our boys and girls on a daily basis,” she said. “We will continue in these efforts so that Burton–Pack Elementary will always be a School of Excellence!”

Collier is only the second principal chosen to receive the award, which the organization began presenting in 1990, said DARE America Executive Director Frank Pegueros.

“The influence Dr. Collier has not only in a particular classroom, but also in working to disseminate the beliefs of DARE throughout the entire school community, and her commitment and support of DARE really set her apart,” he said.

She will be recognized during the National DARE Training Conference August 9–11 in San Antonio, Texas.

In addition to Collier’s honor, Deputy Hayes has been named the State DARE Officer of the Year and Maya Jackson, a rising sixth grader and a graduate of the Burnside Elementary DARE Program under instructor Deputy Robert Boyd and Principal Dr. Felicia Butler, is the State DARE Student of the Year.