Walk to School Day held locally and beyond
Tuesday October 6th, 2009
By MAREESA NICOSIA
The Saratogian
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Early morning commuters might encounter an unusual vehicle on their way to work Wednesday — one that doesn’t emit exhaust or even have wheels.
Known as a “walking school bus,” the “vehicle” to look out for is a group of elementary school students walking to school with parent volunteers. The group stops at houses along a route, picking up students just as a school bus would.
Students and parents at The Waldorf School, as well as from the Division Street, Caroline Street and Lake Avenue elementary schools in the city school district, will join schools from around the world to celebrate International Walk to School Day.
In the United States, International Walk to School Day is expected to include 5,000 schools from all 50 states. Walkers from the U.S. will join nearly 4 million children and adults in 40 countries around the world. The first walk to school event was piloted in 1994 in England.
The local event is organized by Saratoga Healthy Transportation Network (SHTN).
“When kids learn to walk to school, there’s a little sense of empowerment,” said SHTN organizer Caroline Stem. “It (builds) learning skills on how to get yourself from point A to point B.”
Stem said the physical activity before school prepares children to be more alert and more engaged in their class work.
“It has a direct impact on the academic side,” she said.
Walking to school also benefits the environment by cutting down on carbon dioxide emissions, traffic congestion and noise pollution. But the most significant result of the event incorporates the whole town, not just the walkers, Stem said.
“There’s a stronger sense of community — you’ve got people out on the streets, they’re walking and having the opportunity to interact with their neighbors,” she said.
In the past, the parent-run Green Team at Lake Avenue Elementary has teamed up with SHTN to promote walk-to-school days to coincide with the international and national event. It has also encouraged parents and students to walk to school on a weekly basis, Green Team chairwoman Michelle Hicks said.
“We always encourage busing, carpooling and walking, but we asked the school community to focus on it at least one day a week to be “more green,” Hicks said.
Due to short planning for the Oct. 7 event, SHTN didn’t formally invite the Saratoga Springs High School, daycares, preschools or other private schools in the area to join the event, Stem said, but any parent group who wants to participate is welcome.
Stem said SHTN intends to reach out to more schools earlier next fall so they can officially participate in International Walk to School Day.
“Even with a small effort like this, we can start to create awareness. Next year we’ll be in a better position to make it bigger, and have PTA Green Teams take over,” Stem said. “If we can get something like this happening at all the schools … it would be something we can keep going in future years.”
Thomas Mele, the city school district’s assistant superintendent for elementary education, praised the Walk to School event while emphasizing the importance of safety and parent supervision.
“As long as kids are safe, I think it’s a great idea,” Mele said.
“It certainly is an idea that is catching on across the country. If this occurs again, we could incorporate other ideas, like art classes creating banners and signs the students would carry on their walk to school,” he added.
Walkers will arrive at the Waldorf School around 7:50 a.m. and at the public schools around 9 a.m.
For details on “walking school buses,” go to http://www.healthytransportation.org. For more local information, contact Caroline Stem at .
