Kids Walk To School: A Guide to Promote Walking to School

KidsWalk-to-School is a program that aims to get children to walk and bicycle to and from school in groups accompanied b adults. This gives kids a chance to be more physically active, to practice safe pedestrian skills, and to learn more about their environment. At the same time, KidsWalk-to-School encourages people to change their neighborhoods for the better, working together, to make walking a safe and enjoyable part of everyone's lives.

KidsWalk-to-School is for anyone what wants to make traveling to and from school a safe, active, and enjoyable part of children's lives again. The program is great for neighborhoods that have an elementary school within walking distance-usually within a mile. But the KidsWalk-to-School program can also be adapted for children of all ages, those who live in neighborhoods further from the school and those in neighborhoods without safe routes to school.

Here are some potential benefits to children who are physically active:

• Makes them more alert and helps them do better in school
• Improves their self-image and independence
• Contributes to a healthy social and emotional development.
• Increases likelihood that children will grow into adults who lead more active lifestyles, improving their chances for better health.

"KidsWalk-to-School: A Guide to Promote Walking to School" helps schools and communities to set up their own Walk to School program with tools such as:

• A Checklist to Organize a KidsWalk-to-School Program in Your Neighborhood;
• A Step by Step guide on how to organize a KidsWalk-to-School program in your neighborhood;
• Program variations to make KidsWalk-to-School fit in your community;
• Ideas to generate children's enthusiasm;
• Guides to work with the media and elected officials;
• A guide to promoting the program;
• Ways to get funding for the KidsWalk-to-School Programs;
• Safety Tips;
• Surveys, letters, forms, press releases and other valuable tools.

Resource File: 

kidswalk.pdf