ALBANY COUNTY, N.Y. -- Drug education is an important part of growing up and sometimes not the easiest thing to talk about. The DARE Program makes that conversation a bit easier as Wednesday marked National DARE Day.

A fifth grade class celebrated DARE Day as they held their DARE graduation with the Bethlehem Police Department. The Department has one of the longest standing DARE programs, going into its 20th year.

DARE is a police officer led series of classroom lessons that teaches children from kindergarten through 12th grade how to resist peer pressure and live productive drug and violence-free lives.