Talking points offer helpful information on topics such as trends in school travel, safety, physical activity, environment and air quality, etc. These talking points may be helpful during interviews with local media, meetings with parents or any other communications planned for a Safe Routes to School program.
The National Center for Safe Routes to School recently announced the selection of 25 recipients of $1,000 mini-grants for projects designed to encourage safe walking and bicycling to school. The mini-grant activities, many of which are driven by student leadership, will occur during the fall semester of the 2011-2012 school year.
Registration is now open for Walk to School Day 2011, a one-day event in the U.S. that is a part of an international effort to celebrate the many benefits of walking and bicycling to school throughout the month of October. Now in its 14th year, this year’s event will be celebrated on Wednesday, October 5. Walk to School Day participation reached a record high in 2010 with more than 3,500 registered U.S. events, and that number is expected to rise once again in 2011.
Reflectors are a great incentive item or handout because they can be re-used, and have an added safety benefit. Plus, they can be used whether the children are walking or biking. If you're looking for decoration ideas, you should check out our graphics and logo pages. If you are ordering them from a vendor, they will likely need the logos' and graphics' EPS file, which are provided in these pages.
Walking and biking are two of the easiest ways to be active. The National Center has prepared a new research-based resource that specifically looks at the potential physical activity benefits of a SRTS program and describes strategies for measuring those benefits.
Pierre, S.D., is a rural town with approximately 13,000 residents. One of its local elementary schools, Jefferson Elementary School, has more than 400 students in kindergarten through fifth grade. In 2003, the Jefferson Elementary Parent and Teachers Association (PTA) wanted to implement a program designed to encourage healthy behavior in the students. The PTA decided that yearly Walk to School Day events would be the best encouragement program for the students.
Are you looking for an image for a community newsletter or a take-home SRTS flyer for students? Do you need new materials for your organization's website? New materials have been added to the Every Step Counts campaign, a series of free, downloadable SRTS marketing materials focused on the benefits of walking and bicycling to school. The messages have been crafted to relate walking and bicycling to school with issues that parents have said are important to them.
Every Step Counts is the theme of a new series of free, downloadable SRTS marketing materials focused on the benefits of walking and bicycling to school and what motivates parents to consider making that choice.* School zone safety, including speeding and distracted driving, will be another focus of the campaign.
The following is a brief compilation of Safe Routes to School-related news stories from across the country. Web links to the following news stories are time sensitive, so some stories may not be accessible after the initial publication date or may require registration.
