The Walking School Bus

Gabriel attends a charter school in our neighborhood. Being a 'choice school' it draws children from the surrounding areas of Laveen and South Phoenix; since the school does not offer bus service, over 80% of parents drive their kids to school. Many schools struggle with traffic congestion during drop-off and pick-up , our is definitely part of that norm.

In the Spring of 2010, I learned of a National Center called Safe Routes to School, dedicated to promoting walking and biking alternatives for elementary school children. This organization provides funds, via grants , for implementation of infrastructural and non-infrastructural projects which promote this very thing.  Since I heard about SRTS and the possibility of funding, I begun passionately advocating for my son's school to begin changing its driving culture and become a walking and biking friendly school.
I begun attending courses, recruiting volunteers, sending and tabulating surveys. Progress was slow... We missed last year's deadline to apply for  the grant. At the time, I only had the support of one of e administrators at  the school, life got in the way and the whole  project moved to the back burner.

In January I heard that another round of grants was coming up due in the Spring, so I contacted the Exec. Director  to see if this might be a better time. To my delight, the school now had a contracted grant writer who would be  able to  devote time and expertise to MY project. So we gathered some info and the application got in motion. Exactly 2 minutes before the deadline ( and after chasing and City of Phoenix Engineer the entire morning for a signature), I dove into the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) and turned the Planning Assistance grant application. A few weeks later we were awarded the PAP grant! Fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) worth of consulting services which would help us develop a Safe Routes to School strategy and develop a NEW travel plan. There could be more than one way to get in and out of school!

Studies show that fewer children are walking and biking to school, and more children are at risk of becoming overweight. Changing behaviors of children and parents require creative solutions that are safe and fun.
Implementing a walking school bus can be both.
A walking school bus is a group of children walking to school with one or more adults. If that sounds simple, it is, and that’s part of the beauty of the walking school bus. It can be as informal as two families taking turns walking their children to school to as structured as a route with meeting points, a timetable and a regularly rotated schedule of trained volunteers.

The Walking School Bus (WSB) is just one of many strategies to encourage children to walk to school. Ours operates as a structured route that meets at a point about .50 miles from school. Children who 'ride' the WSB have an added opportunity for exercise and for interaction with peers and children (older or younger) whom they would normally not have a chance to interact. We also alleviate traffic congestion around campus. One of the bigger accomplishments of the WSB was the installation of a school zone and cross walk in front of the school.

Creating the WSB and working with the school administrators and grant write has been and incredible experience. It has been hard work, yet seeing such palpable results as 30+ kids walking to and from school every day has been a source of much delight (and frustration)!

Recently, both ABC15 and ADOT's own TV production people came to do a piece on our Walking School Bus. To see the videos that resulted, click here and here.

We have come a long way, but there is still much work to be done. These days we are working on a grant application that may give us up to $250,000 for improvements, that could lead to the growth of the WSB, and to make our campus safer for walkers and bikers through enviromental improvements but primarily through education and encouragement.

Here is hoping for the cooperation of administrators, city officials and volunteers toward a timely submission of the Cycle 6 ADOT grant due on 12/30/2011!