Safe Routes to School, Forms, September 2002, DOT HS 809 497

Safe Routes to School
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Healthy Hearts TALKING POINTS

General Health

It is well documented that developing healthy eating and exercise habits at an early age lead to a lifelong personal commitment to a healthy lifestyle

Public health officials and scientists agree that everyone should accumulate 30 minutes of physical activity every day to reduce the risk of chronic disease and early death. A brisk walk tops their list of recommendations. Unfortunately the Center of Disease Control estimates that as few as 20% of adults meet that standard.

On top of the daily 30 minutes of moderate physical activity children need another 20 minutes of vigorous activity several days per week. Yet 78% of young boys and girls fall short of this recommended dose of exercise.

Exercise and Youth

Nearly half of young people aged 12-21 years do not engage in vigorous physical activity on a regular basis. Participation in physical activity declines strikingly as children get older

Health professionals agree that exercise patterns need to be established in childhood so as to reduce the chances of coronary heart disease, reduce blood pressure, counter obesity, lower lipids, retard osteoporosis, improve psychological well-being and possibly reduce the risk of cancer.

The process of cholesterol buildup of the arteries begins in childhood and continues through their teens.

Heart Disease

Like any muscle, the heart needs a constant supply of oxygen and nutrients that are carried to it by the blood in the coronary arteries. Good nutrition combined with exercise can give your children the insurance they need to have a strong and healthy heart. Thirty minutes of exercise a day is recommended as enough to protect against future heart disease.

Seven million Americans suffer from Coronary Heart Disease (CHD), caused by narrowing the coronary arteries that feed the heart. CHD is the number one killer of both men and women in the United States. Each year more than 500,000 Americans die of heart attacks caused by CHD. Many of these deaths could be prevented because CHD is related to certain aspects of the lifestyle, including high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, smoking, obesity, and physical inactivity.

Physical Fitness

Walking and biking are both excellent forms of exercise, since they stimulate and maintain muscular strength and good joint function; involve a large percentage of the body; can be maintained throughout life; and do not provoke hip, knee or other weight bearing injuries.

California law requires school districts to administer physical fitness testing to all 5th, 7th and 9th grade students annually. In 1999, 80% of the students tested failed to meet the minimum standards to be considered physically fit.

Physical activity is often limited to specific sports or games. In order for children to learn to love physical activity, it is necessary to provide a variety of options so that children can choose the activity they most want to learn and enjoy.

Physical activity helps kids to concentrate, makes them stronger and more energetic, prevents weight gain, keeps bodies supple, keeps hair and skin looking good, and contributes to higher self-esteem, and lower anxiety and stress

70% of children watch at least one hour of TV each day. 35% watch five hours or more.

Obesity

Nationally, childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions with 4.7 million youths, ages 6-17 now overweight or obese. 22% of American children are now considered obese and that number is doubling every 10 years.

Children who are overweight often feel stigmatized, have lower self-esteem, and are less likely to engage in physical activity in order to avoid ridicule from classmates.

Sources:
California Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Coalition
California Department of Health Services
Children, Transport and the Quality of Life, Mayer Hillman 1993
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Surgeon General Report on Physical Activity and Health, 1996
Compiled by Safe Routes to Schools, a project of the Marin County Bicycle Coalition
P.O. Box 201, Forest Knolls, CA 94933 415-488-4101 www.safeoutestoschools.org

Environmental FACT SHEET

Alternatives to driving alone

People in mixed-use compact communities drive 30-50% less than sprawling communicates. They are easier to serve by public transit and it is easy to walk or bike to run errands, and to get to school or work. (National Resources Defense Council)

If just one out of every 10 commuters who now drive to work switched to walking, we’d save 2 billion gallons of gas a year and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 25.4 million tons. (Green Commutes, Makower)

Switching for a month from a five mile car commute to a bike commute keeps close to a pound of hydrocarbons, six pounds of carbon monoxide and half a pond of nitrogen oxide from entering the air. (Divorce your Car, Katie Alvord, 2000)

Every transit commuter who bikes to the station saves an average of 150 gallons of gas a year. Every car commuter who switches to biking and transit can save 400 gallons of gas a year. (Divorce your Car)

Eight bicycles can be parked in the space required for just one car. (Divorce your Car)

Going by bus instead of car cuts nitrogen oxide pollution by 25%, carbon monoxide by 80% and hydrocarbons by 90% per passenger mile. (Divorce your Car)

One full 40 foot bus will take 58 cars off the road. (Divorce your Car)

Automobile Use

The United States moves into the 21st century with less than 30% of its original oil supply (Global 200 Revisited Gerald O. Barney)

Los Angeles residents drive 142 millions miles—the distance from Earth to Mars—every single day. (Going Place, Making Choices, 4H)

Americans drive more than 2 trillion vehicle miles per year. (4H)

Short motor trips contribute significant amounts of air pollution because they typically occur while an engine’s pollution control system is cold and ineffective. Shifting 1% of automobile trips to walking or biking decreases emissions by 2-4%. (Way to Go, British Columbia)

Roads and parking in urban and suburban communities cover between 30-50% of land base. If just 5% of a watershed is covered with impervious surfaces, such as roads and parking facilities, water quality of streams and waterways is seriously degraded due to oily runoff from streets. (Way to Go)

The number of cars grew three times faster than the human population world wide in the 1990’s. (BioScience, Oct 1998)

Americans lose an estimated 2000-2800 acres of rural land every day to highways, housing developments, shopping malls, airports and other non-farm uses. That’s 730,000 to 1,020,000 acres a year. If current trends continue, in the next 100 years approximately 1/3 of America’s farmland will be lost to suburbs, malls and other uses.(Natural Resource Conservation Management for a Sustainable Future, 1998)

Global Warming

As carbon dioxide builds in the atmosphere, it traps heat so that the earth warms as if it were in a giant greenhouse. These greenhouse gases allow the sun’s energy to penetrate the atmosphere to the earth’s surface, but do not allow as much of it to escape as heat. These are altering air temperature and movement, causing changes in weather and climate. This is enough to raise ocean levels causing flooding for some coastal areas. (R. Monastersky, Science News, Jan 2, 1999)

Global average surface temperatures increased by about 1.7 degrees Celsius from 1900 to 1998. (Science News)

Seven of the globe’s ten warmest years have been recorded since 1990. (Science News)

The incidence of extreme weather events has gone up 28% since 1975 and it is now confirmed that the Artic ice caps are melting, threatening coastal regions with flooding and actually drowning some small islets. (U.S. E.P.A.)

Atmospheric concentrations of CO2, the main greenhouse gas implicated in global warming, are higher than they’ve been in 160,000 years, and they’re rising. (Intergovernment Panel on Climate Change, 1995)

Driving is the biggest contributor to increased greenhouse gases. (New State of the Earth Atlas, 1995.)

Pollution

Motor vehicle use is now generally recognized as the source of more air pollution than any other single human activity. (New State of the Earth Atlas, 1995.)

In a year, a typical North American car will add close to five tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. Cars account for an estimated 15-25 percent of U.S. CO2 emissions. (Internal Council for Local Environment, 1995)

While cars today are cleaner than they were in 1970, the increases in the number of cars and miles driven have offset much of that gain. (Divorce your Car)

Oxides of nitrogen, volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide and particulate matters are just a few of the noxious pollutants that come out of our cars and into our air and water. (Divorce your Car)

Oil spills damage marine life and habitats. The number of small spills under 100,000 gallons has grown worldwide and as of the mid 1990s totaled around 10 million gallons yearly. Large spills —over 10 million gallons—occur at a rate of 1-3 a year worldwide. (Oil Spills, Joanna Burger, 1997)

Disposal of used motor oil sends more oil into the water each year than even the largest tanker spill. (U.S. EPA)

About 800 million scrap tires are stockpiled around the U.S. Every year we throw out over 260 million tires. Tires trap gases inside and tend to float or work their way to the tops of dumps. (U.S. EPA)

Prepared by Safe Routes to Schools, a Project of the Marin County Bicycle Coalition

Safety TALKING POINTS

Guidelines for Good Pedestrian Behavior
Guidelines for Children:

Look both ways before crossing (left, right, left again)

Walk, don’t run across the street

Cross only at safe corners, even if you walk farther

Choose the route with fewest streets to cross

When possible, cross streets at the crosswalk and where there are traffic signs and signals

Obey traffic signs and signals

Face traffic when walking on roads without sidewalks

Watch for turning cars

Keep from walking between parked cars

Refuse to ride with strangers (U.S. Department of Transportation)

Guidelines for Parents:

Group children along school routes for better visibility and driver awareness. When larger numbers cross together it makes motorists more aware of kids crossing, increases driver compliance with stopping for crosswalks, and helps justify the installation of more extensive crossing protection devices. Look for adequate shoulder or sidewalk areas to provide refuge.

Children are not small adults. They often act before thinking and may not do what parents or drivers expect. They assume that if they see the driver, the driver sees them. They have one-third narrower side vision, can’t judge speed and are less able to determine the direction of sounds. They are shorter than adults and can’t see over cars, bushes and other objects. (NHTSA)

Helmets Can Save Lives:

Bike helmet use can reduce the risk of head injury by 85 percent when worn correctly.

Each year more than 700 people are killed in bike crashes in the United States, and up to 50 percent of those deaths could have been prevented if bike riders had worn helmets.

Helmets must be snug and level and cover the upper part of the forehead; you should have room for no more than two fingers between the straps and your chin. (NHTSA, AAA)

Success Stories

The City of Seattle reported a 77 to 91 percent reduction in traffic collisions in some communities after it installed 700 traffic circles, while Portland, Oregon, experienced a 58 percent reduction in the number of reported crashes. (ITS)

The City of Santa Monica is redesigning at least a dozen major streets, installing bike lanes, and widening sidewalks and medians. The city is also embedding flashing yellow lights in the pavement to illuminate some crosswalks. Police have issued more than 700 citations to drivers failing to yield to pedestrians in nine months. (City of Santa Monica, CA)

In Odense, Denmark, the city created a network of traffic-free foot and bike paths, established slow speed areas, narrowed roads and installed traffic islands. Crashes declined by 85 percent. Twenty percent of all journeys in Denmark are now made by bike compared with 3 percent in Great Britain and 1 percent in the United States. (Dept. of Environment and Transport Regions, London, England)

In Great Britain, speed zones were reduced to 20 mph, resulting in 70 percent fewer child pedestrian causalities and 28 percent fewer bicycling causalities. (Dept. of Environment and Transport Regions, London, England)

Some Statistics

A pedestrian struck by a car traveling at 40 mph has a 15 percent chance of survival. At 30 mph there is a 55 percent chance of survival. At 20 mph there is an 85 percent chance of survival. (U.S. Department of Transportation)

Seventy-three percent of children between 5 and 9 years old killed in accidents were riding in cars. (NHTSA)

Twenty to twenty-five percent of morning traffic is parents driving their children to school. (Department of Environment and Transport Regions, London, England; Marin CMA)

Forty-six percent of traffic crashes involving kids as pedestrians occur when a child darts out into the street. (NHTSA)

Fifty percent of children who are hit by cars near schools are hit by cars driven by parents of other students. (Washington State Department of Transportation)

Less than 1 percent of children aged 7-15 now ride bicycles to school, a decrease of more than 60 percent since the 1970s. (Surface Transportation Policy Project, Caught in the Crosswalk)

Sixty-one percent of adults would walk more if they had safe, secure paths. (Pedestrian Federation of America)

It takes about 10 minutes to walk a quarter of a mile or bike an entire mile. (Pedestrian Federation of America)

Traffic Calming reduces collision frequency by 40 percent, vehicle insurance claims by 38 percent, and traffic fatalities by 50 percent. (Insurance Company of British Columbia)

Safe Routes to Schools, PO Box 201, Forest Knolls, CA 94933; Tel: 415-488-4101. E-mail: wkallins@igc.org; www.saferoutestoschools.org.

Student Survey: How We Traveled to School Today

Grade_______ #of Students_______ Teacher____________________________

Walked	Biked	Bus	Carpool	Car	Other
Date
Date
Date
Date

Parent Survey:

1. What is your child’s sex and grade level?
Boy ______ Girl ______ Grade____________________

2. What is the approximate distance from your home to the school?
o1ž4 mile or less
o 1ž4 to 1ž2 mile
o 1ž2 mile to 1 mile
o between 1–2 miles
o over 2 miles

3. What neighborhood/community do you live in? ___________________________________________

4. How does your child usually travel to and from school? (check the appropriate boxes below)

TO SCHOOL IN THE MORNING

	Every Day	2-3 times a week	Once a week	Occasionally
Walk
Bike
Driven
Carpool
Bus

From school in the afternoon

	Every Day	2-3 times a week	Once a week	Occasionally
Walk
Bike
Driven
Carpool
Bus

5. Do you feel that the school provides a safe place to store bikes? yes_____ no_____

6. Do you have concerns about traffic safety along the routes to school? yes_____ no_____

7. Please elaborate (include specific streets or intersections that are problematic)
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

8. If you drive your child, why do you make that choice?
o Safety
o Convenience
o Drop off on way to work
o Too far to walk
o Sidewalks (lack of or incomplete)
o High speed vehicles
o Child is too young
o Bad weather
o Child would not obey safety rules
o Backpacks too heavy
o Carrying projects or musical instruments
o Tardiness
o Safe place to cross the street
o Scary people
o Lack of safe place to store bikes
o No biking or walking route maps
o Paths are incomplete or not wide enough
o Unfriendly dogs
o Other

9. Would you allow your child to walk or bike if:
o Accompanied by other children
o Accompanied by other parents
o Provide routes maps
o Crossing guards more effective
o Safety training for students
o Improved sidewalks and bike paths
o Cars slowed down
o Secure bike storage was available
o Paths were separated from traffic
o Other

10. Would you let your child carpool if:
o You were familiar with the driver
o Someone organized it
o Other

11. Would you be interested in volunteering to help set up or maintain a walking or biking program? yes_____ no_____
If so please give your name and phone number ______________________
____________________________________________________________

12. Comments:
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

Please return this survey to the school office.
Or mail it to:

Safe routes to school: Traffic Count Form

Road Name or Location __________________________________________________
Date____________________________ Weather ______________________________
Start Time _______________________ End Time _____________________________
Name(s) of Counters & Recorders__________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

Count the Number of Cars

How Many Children in Each Car?

Count the Bicyclists
(with helmets)

Count the Bicyclists
(without helmets)

Count the Number of Children Walking

Instructions for Traffic Count Form

1. Have kids pair up in teams of two to count walkers and bicyclists. Car counters need teams of three.

2. Each team is assigned a location where children are arriving at school.

3. One person is the counter and the other is the recorder. When counting cars, one person counts cars and another counts the number of children in each car.

4. The counters call out a car (biker or walker) when it (they) arrives. The recorder makes a mark for the number of cars and writes out the number for the number of children per car. (Make sure they keep the tic marks in groups of five). The bike and walking counters should make marks for each child.

5. At the end they total the number of marks. Then they count how many cars that had more than one child in the car, which counts the number of carpools. Note: If the class has learned how to average, then have them compute the number of children per carpool.

6. Combine all the forms to find out how many children walked to school, biked to school, came in a carpool, or came alone in a car.

7. Return the forms to the Safe Routes to School box in the office or contact __________________ at __________________.

Thanks for helping out the Safe Routes to School program

Safe Routes to School is a project of:
NAME OF SCHOOL, ADDRESS, PHONE, E-MAIL

SAMPLE:Letter Home to Parents

Dear Parent,

YOUR SCHOOL and YOUR TOWN are working to ensure the safety of children traveling to and from school. To that end we will be starting a Safe Routes to Schools program this fall. This program will determine the safest routes to walk and bike to school, suggest safety improvements to those routes, develop fun ways to encourage more children to use those routes, and recruit parents and neighbors to accompany children to school. We will be teaching children traffic safety and look at ways to slow the traffic down around the schools

The programs goals are to:

Reduce traffic congestion in and around the school.

Improve safety through increased enforcement and street improvements.

Increase the number of children who walk and bike to school.

Our first event will be _________ which has been declared International Walk to School Day. Parents and children who walk or bike to school together that day will arrive to a host of festivities and goodies.

If you are concerned about traffic and safety in and around the school and would like more information about Safe Routes to Schools please come to our first planning meeting on _____________.

Here’s what you can do to help:

Fill out the enclosed questionnaire and return it by ____________.

Mark your calendar and participate in International Walk to School Day.

Come to our first informational meeting on _____________________

If you are tired of traffic dangers around the school, here is your chance to make a difference. Thank you for any participation you can give to this program. We will be keeping you informed about our progress.

Yours truly,

Safe Routes to Schools: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Your Name, Safe Routes to Schools Team Leader

Your Phone Number

NAME OF YOUR SCHOOL

HOLDS A WALK AND BIKE TO SCHOOL DAY EVENT

DATE OF EVENT

TIME: _______ LOCATION: ___________

On Date, Name of School will be holding its monthly Walk and Bike to School Day. Name of School has been holding monthly events which have been growing in size ever since the school participated in International Walk to School Day last October.

People are invited to walk and bike to school with their children on Date. Neighbors and community members are invited to walk and bike as well.

IF YOU ARE HOSTING STAGING AREAS OR WALKING SCHOOL BUSES, PUBLICIZE THEM HERE.

Walk and Bike to School Day is being sponsored by Name of Town’s Safe Routes to Schools program. Safe Routes to Schools is the popular new program that is getting more children to walk and bicycle to school. It is an international movement that aims to make everyday walk and bike to school day. More children walking and biking means better health benefits for them and the environment, and reduced traffic congestion for everyone.

Safe Routes to Schools works by organizing “Teams” at each school which organize events and contests, and assist with promotion and facilitation of walking and biking to school. Local “Teams” within a town work together with law enforcement and town officials to map the routes to schools and make the routes physically safer. The program also includes classroom education for bicycle and pedestrian safety skills. You don’t have to be a parent to join in the fun!

For more information contact Your Name, Your Number.

SAMPLE:
Support letter from Principal
for the Safe Routes to Schools Program

Dear,

MY SCHOOL wishes to become part of the Safe Routes to Schools Program. I understand that The Safe Routes to Schools program would take place during the 2002-2003 school year and to be a Safe Routes to Schools Program requires the formation of a Safe Routes Team at my school which can include parents, neighbors, and interested teachers, which will organize contests and events.

I also understand that Safe Routes to Schools will be providing in-class safety education at my school and will be training volunteers, public safety officers and interested staff in assisting in these presentations. I have read the curriculum outline and will assist the program in finding class time during Physical Education. If PE is not available at my school we will find other class time for these presentations.

I also understand that my school will be part of a community-wide Task Force of parents, neighborhood members, and participation from staff from the school and town which will identify and evaluate safer routes to schools for our children and present this to City staff.

In addition to helping to relieve morning traffic (which is at an all-time high), I am excited about the potential for this Safe Routes to Schools Program because walking and bicycling increases the physical and mental health of children.

I am is pleased to support the Safe Routes to Schools program.

Resolution in Support of
the Safe Routes to Schools Program Sample

Whereas: YOUR School wishes to become part of the Safe Routes to Schools Program; and

Whereas: The Safe Routes to Schools program would take place during the 2002/2003 school year; and

Whereas: To be a Safe Routes to Schools Program requires the formation of Teams at each school which can include parents, neighbors, and interested teachers, which will organize contests and events, and

Whereas: Safe Routes to Schools’ will assist in forming a community-wide Task Force which will include parents, neighborhood members, law enforcement, and participation from staff from the school and town which will identify and evaluate safer routes to schools for our children and present this to City staff; and

Whereas: Safe Routes to Schools will be providing in-class safety education in each qualifying school, and

Whereas: In addition to helping to relieve morning traffic (which is at an all-time high), Your DISTRICT /TOWN is excited about the potential for this Safe Routes to Schools Program because walking and bicycling increases the physical health of children; and

Whereas: There are several existing bicycle and pedestrian paths in our community, as well as sidewalks and bicycle lanes, which would be well used as school routes through more community education, cooperation, and promotion.

Therefore: YOUR DISTRICT/CITY is pleased to support the Safe Routes to Schools program.

PROCLAMATION
INTERNATIONAL WALK TO
SCHOOL DAY OCTOBER 2, 2002

Whereas: International Walk to School Day will be held on October 2, 2002; and

Whereas: This event, taking place around the world, will focus on the benefits of walking or biking rather than driving to school, creating cleaner, safer and environmentally healthier schools for children; and

Whereas: This day affords parents the opportunity to spend more time with their children, reduces car use and traffic hazards, promotes physical activity and contributes to a safer community.

Therefore: We, the YOUR School District, do hereby proclaim October 2, 2002 as “International Walk to School Day” and encourage everyone to participate in this very worthwhile event.

WALK TO SCHOOL DAY Check List

Organizing a Walk to School Day can be fun and rewarding for everyone. Each school finds its own method of creating a safe environment for kids to walk and bike to school. Below are some suggestions that can make your day go smoothly. Find out what works for you. Remember to give each of your volunteers something to do. If everyone takes a little bit, then no one is burdened with too much.

Basic needs

o Inform the school administration and the PTA of the event

o Arrange for crossing guards and/or adults monitors

o Notify police

o Have a greeter(s), a table and garbage cans

o Have someone buy or get donated food if you’re having treats (Some grocery stores can reserve items for you if you get in touch well in advance)

Walking School Buses and Bike Trains

o In Neighborhoods—publish a “bus” route with “stops”.

• Assign at least two adults for each “bus” with a dozen children.

o For School-wide Parades: establish Staging Areas where people can “catch the bus”

• Assign at least four adults to each staging area. Two for walking Two for biking

o Invite other parents to walk or bike along.

Publicity

o Send home flyers

o Put up posters

o Put up signs on roads

o Send out e-mail

o Phone parents to remind them

o Put item in school newsletter

o Have principal make an ongoing announcements 1-2 days before event

o Notify teachers and ask them to remind students

o Put out press release

o Have students make signs and flags to carry

Other Volunteer Options

o Senior groups

o Biking clubs

o Hiking clubs

o Other community groups

Safe Routes to Schools P.O. Box 201 Forest Knolls CA 94933 (415)488-4101 wwwsaferoutestoschools.org

SAFETY Tips

The Six simple Steps to Staying Safe:

1) When walking, stop at every curb or edge.

2) Always look and listen, especially while crossing. Look left; look right; then left again, before stepping past any curb or edge.

3) Always wear a helmet when riding a bike.

4) Always ride in the same direction as traffic.

5) Know what signs say. When walking or riding, follow all traffic signs and signals.

6) When riding, always stop; look left; look right; then left again before pulling out of a driveway.

Helpful Hints in the Classroom For Volunteers

Working with teachers to schedule lessons:

If possible, book into a slot right before recess or lunch.

Partner with the Art teacher for art lessons.

Partner with Physical Education classes for bicycle and pedestrian rodeos.

When arranging the lesson with the teacher, make sure the teacher or an aide will be present. Having a regular teacher present will help maintain good behavior.

Don’t be disappointed if you get turned down or get no reply. Try to send e-mail instead.

Every school and each classroom has its own culture.

Classroom management strategies:

Demand respectful behavior.

Be clear and consistent with your expectations.

Do not raise your voice; use a whistle or a bell to get their attention.

(Ask the teacher what their device is).

Use names, ask name.

Set up strategies:

Have all of your materials ready to go before students arrive.

Do not give them the materials before you deliver the instructions or they will just play with the materials and not pay any attention to your directions.

Allow time for clean up; expect the students to help.

Lesson strategies:

Our ASK strategy (Answer Supplied by the Kids) means three things:
- Rather than instructing them, ask them, and help them arrive at the answer themselves.
- There is no such thing as a wrong answer.
- You will have to prompt them sometimes or you’ll be there all day.
Allow time for questions and/or comments. Take questions first; with younger students you’ll need to be clear about the difference between a question and a comment.

Frequent Rider Miles Contest

The Frequent Rider Miles contest rewards children who come to school walking, biking, by bus or by carpool. Every time a child walks or bikes to school he or she gets to cross off the bike/walk box on his/her card worth two points. A child who rides the bus or carpools checks the carpool/bus box worth one point. A child who walks to the bus can count that as two points. Every card must be signed by a parent or guardian.

When the children have completed their card, they turn it in and get an instant reward by choosing something from the grab bag plus they get a new card. At the end of the year, there will be a raffle. Prizes have included bicycles, gloves, helmets, blinkies, bags, hats and t-shirts.

How to Organize the Contest
The simple version:
Schedule a set time and place when children can turn in their cards and get prizes, weekly is best. One school is collecting cards at their regular morning walk/bike day table and another is setting up an area during lunchtime once a week. You can also set up a card return in the office if you have a willing staff person. When a child turns in his/her card, you let him/her choose a reward from the grab bag and the child gets a new card. At the end of the year, schedule a special time when you can have the raffle. You can do it during lunch time, schedule a special assembly or piggy-back on an existing assembly.

Advanced version:
If you want to provide extra rewards for kids who walk and bike more regularly, you can track those children for special treats. Every time a child turns in a card, stamp the new card for each card they have turned in. For instance, a child turns in a card and gets a new card with one stamp. The next time, you’ll see that the child's card has a stamp and you give him/her two stamps on the third card. This will let you keep track of the children who are more advanced in the contest.

You can reserve the more desirable prizes for those kids. This gives them incentive to walk and bike more often. For instance: For children who turn in one or two cards, they choose from grab bag #1. For those who turn in 3-4 cards, they get a different bag of prizes. A fifth card could get them a special treat donated by a local merchant, such as a free ice cream or video rental. You can also keep the cards with multiple stamps separate and have a special raffle for them. Publish or announce the names of those students who are turning in multiple cards. Let them be acknowledged for their special effort.

You can be somewhat flexible in your guidelines. If a child is dropped off at school but walks or bikes, or buses home, you can allow the child to count that as points. Do NOT count more than one way a day (we don’t have enough prizes for that). We encourage you to only count multi-family carpools. A large family is not really doing anything different than a small family and it will seem unfair if they are allowed to be rewarded. Private schools may need to organize this differently.

How to Announce the Contest
The easiest way to launch the contest is to announce it at an assembly and explain the rules to everyone at once. However, if you have the volunteers, it’s better to go to each class and explain the contest and answer questions.

Use this contest to spread the word about walking and biking to school. Advertise the contest in your weekly newsletter, publicize the names of the winners, put their names up on a bulletin board or give them recognition at assemblies. Keep reminding the kids to “Count their Miles”.

Some “What Ifs?”
What if a child gets dropped off at daycare early in the morning and can’t participate? What if a child is handicapped or has special needs? Let these children be classroom monitors and allow them to get a little prize for helping out. Or give them another job to do to help with the contest. Some schools have offered alternative activities like completing activity books.

What if a child gets dropped off in the morning but walks or bikes home? If this is a child who walks or bikes regularly home, then they really are in the spirit of the contest. We leave it up to your discretion if you want to make an exception. It is more difficult to monitor the way children go home. Make sure they understand that they can’t claim walking and biking home in addition to coming to school. It’s one square a day.

What if a child wants to participate but his/her parents adamantly insist on driving their child themselves? This is unfortunate, but it is the parent’s right. Suggest that the child find someone who lives near them who might like to carpool. If the parent refuses to carpool, then the parent may have to deal with an unhappy child, and it is their responsibility, not yours.

Developed by Safe Routes to Schools, a project of the Marin County Bicycle Coalition, and GO GERONIMO
(PO Box 201, Forest Knolls, CA 94933; Tel: 415-488-4101. www.safeoutestoschools.org).

Walk and Bike Across America
A Classroom Contest for 2nd through 8th graders

Walk and Bike Across America is a great opportunity for kids to see just how far they can get by walking and biking. This is a classroom contest that promotes teamwork. Teachers can also use this opportunity as a geography and a science lesson.

How to Play
Children will be given a form to take home and fill out with their parents on a weekly basis. This form will allow them to keep track of the number of miles they travel walking and biking to school. Each week at a designated time, a member of the class takes all the forms and adds up the number of miles that they have all traveled during that week. Children who take the bus or carpool can contribute one bonus mile for every time they travel to school by either of those modes.

The class then takes a piece of string and measures out the total mileage using the key from the map as your guide. This string will be used to measure the miles on the map. They then decide where they want to go for that number of miles (make sure you travel along roads and not “as the crow flies”).

Each week, the class travels a little farther. At the end of the contest period, the class that has traveled the farthest gets a special prize—this can be a pizza or ice cream party donated by a local business, or a special field trip. Each school can decide on the prize.

Using this contest as part of class lessons:
Geography: As an option, the class can look up each place they travel and find out something about it. They can also get on the Internet and try to contact the city or town. There may be a school in that town that can be contacted by the students, explaining that they have “traveled” to their school.

Science: The class can also keep track of the amount of pollution they have saved. Every time a car is started, pollutants are sent into the atmosphere. Every mile after that produces more pollution. Therefore, every mile a student travels without a car is saving that much pollution. At the end of the contest period you can show how much pollution was saved by the kids not driving to school.

The startup pollution for automobiles is:

1.5 grams of reactive organic compounds (ROGs)
11.6 grams of carbon monoxide (CO)
.8 grams of oxides of nitrogen (NOx)

Thereafter, the per mile pollution is:

.7 g per mile of ROGS
8.1 g per mile of CO
.9 g per mile of NOx

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