Education Law

What? WALK to School??

Remember the line ?I used to walk 10 miles to school every day, uphill, both ways??? Today?s children and youth are much less likely to use it. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the percentage of students who live within a two mile radius of, and walk or ride a bike to school has dropped dramatically in the past several decades?plummeting from 49% in 1969 to just 18% in 2001.

October 8 is International Walk to School Day. This is a chance for schools, communities and parents to work together to get students across the country out of the car and onto a bike or sidewalk. With its 1997 U.S. debut as a city-wide event in Chicago, Walk to School Day has grown to involve over 2700 schools in all 50 states last year.

But BoardBuzz believes walking and biking to school shouldn?t be just a once-a-year occasion! Often it takes a leader to champion the cause. A school board member from Arizona did just that by advocating for the development of a ?walking school bus program? for her rural district. Since many of her students live outside of town and are bussed in to school, she arranged for the school bus to drop off the students at the town hall. The students are met by parent chaperones and the group continues on foot to the school.

Simple changes such as these can make a difference in the health and physical activity levels of students. But the benefits don?t stop there. Walking- and biking-to-school programs also have positive effects on the environment (by reducing pollution from automobiles) and on school district budgets (by reducing transportation costs). With emerging concerns about childhood obesity, global warming, and rising fuel prices, these benefits become even more pronounced.

Don?t be mistaken?creating safe walking and biking routes takes plenty of collaboration between community leaders, schools, parents, and other groups. But the payoffs will be well worth the effort. Want more information? Visit the U.S. International Walk to School Day web site , the National Center for Safe Routes to Schools, or contact NSBA School Health Programs.

Full post as published by BoardBuzz: NSBA's Daily Weblog on September 18, 2008 (boomark / email).