Safe Routes to School E-News November 2010
In this monthly e-news update, we will keep you informed about resources and support available through the Sonoma County Safe Routes to School program, inform you about logistics regarding upcoming or prior events, and share any other ideas and inspiration for keeping children motivated to walk and bicycle to school safely year round.
1. RECIPIENTS OF SRTS “CAPTAIN BICYCLE SHORTS” ASSEMBLY GRANTS
2. SANTA ROSA SCHOOLS RECEIVE SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS AND $336,000 iN FUNDING
4. INSPIRING SRTS PROGRAM MODEL: ALPINE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
5. SEBASTOPOL SRTS BIKE CLUB A ROUSING SUCCESS – YOU CAN DO IT TOO!
6. REGISTER NOW FOR THE ONLINE 511.org SCHOOL POOL SYSTEM (online car, walk, and bike pool matching)
7. DECEMBER SRTS NEWSLETTER BLURB AND ACTIVITY IDEAS FOR ONGOING WALK/ROLL ENCOURAGEMENT
8. WE’D STILL LOVE YOUR IWALK/ROLL STORIES AND PICTURES!
9. GUIDE FOR BUYING BICYCLES FOR KIDS – INFO TO SEND TO PARENTS!
10. BECOME OUR SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL FACEBOOK FRIEND!
11. CHECK OUT THE SONOMA COUNTY SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL WEBSITE
12. CONTACT INFORMATION FOR SRTS CITY/AREA LEADS
1. RECIPIENTS OF SRTS “CAPTAIN BICYCLE SHORTS” ASSEMBLY GRANTS
In October, SRTS E-News announced that Kaiser Permanente and State Farm Insurance have donated funds to enable two local schools to receive free “Captain Bicycle Shorts: or How I Became A Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Superhero” assembly performances, and invited schools to apply for those funds.
We are pleased to announce the recipients of the grants:
State Farm Grant ($350.00/one performance): Santa Rosa Educational Cooperative School
Kaiser Grant ($500.00/two performances): Cali Calmecac Language Academy, Windsor
Both sites have plans to continue encouraging students to Walk & Roll to School safely year round. SREC will be holding monthly walk/roll days, teachers will utilize lessons from our online K-6 SRTS Curriculum Guide, and parents will coordinate a Spring Bicycle Rodeo. Cali Calmecac, along with all the schools in the Windsor Unified School District, will be taking advantage of the new 511.org school pool system to encourage parents to connect for walking, bicycling and carpooling, and will also promote walking and rolling through their monthly newsletter, will provide the SRTS curriculum to their 4th-8th grade teachers, and are discussing plans to have another Walk/Roll Day in the Spring.
Please read the recent Press Democrat article about this fabulous, new Safe Routes to School Bicycle/Pedestrian Safety Assembly, performed by the Imaginist’s Theater Collective:
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20100929/ARTICLES/100929388/1350?p=1&tc=pg
WANT THE IMAGINISTS TO PERFORM AT YOUR SITE?
The Imaginists are available to perform at local schools and events, Performances can be requested by emailing Tina Panza at tinap@bikesonoma.org. The fee for the performance is $350 for one performance, $500.00 for two back-to-back performances at a site, and $600.00 for three back-to-back performances at a site. Additional travel fees may apply in certain locations.
Any future grant/funding opportunities will be announced through the SRTS E-News.
2. SANTA ROSA SCHOOLS RECEIVE SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS AND $336,000 iN FUNDING
The South Santa Rosa Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program greatly appreciates all the efforts of the Santa Rosa Public Works Department (SRPW) and the Sonoma County Public Works Departments (SCPW), as well as involved parents, school administrators and law enforcement, over the past year. In February, city and county engineers accompanied SRTS staff, school staff, concerned parents, and law enforcement representatives on walking audits to identify enforcement or engineering barriers to walking and bicycling near Roseland, Sheppard/RAMS, Meadowview, Taylor Mountain, and Kawana schools. SRPW and SCPW quickly addressed the issues they could within the scope of their budgets such as installing or correcting signage, painting or repainting crosswalks, replacing a broken barricade, adjusting crosswalk signal timing, patching bad sidewalk surfaces, and installing temporary bumpers to protect pedestrians at a street corner with poor visibility. In July, SRPW and SCPW partnered with the South Santa Rosa SRTS Task Force to prioritize the high-cost infrastructure concerns identified on the walking audits and to apply for state SRTS Infrastructure funding. Caltrans recently announced that SRPW received a $336,270 SRTS Cycle 9 Infrastructure grant to fund infrastructure improvements. This money will be used to install pedestrian-activated flashers at Kawana Springs Rd. and Meadow Way and College Ave. and Glenn St., install crosswalks and curb ramps at West Ave. and Delport Ave, and purchase a bicycle cage for Kawana Elementary. The improvements will affect Kawana Elementary, Roseland Elementary, Sheppard Elementary, Roseland Accelerated Middle School, Santa Rosa Middle School and Santa Rosa High School. In addition, this past Fall, the CHP began deploying a speed trailer purchased by the South Santa Rosa SRTS program, which will rotate between the schools in the Bellevue and Roseland School Districts in areas where parents indicated concerns with speed limit violations.
3. INSPIRING SRTS PROGRAM MODEL: SEBASTOPOL INDEPENDENT CHARTER SCHOOL’S WALKING & ROLLING SCHOOL BUS & WALK/ROLL PROGRAM
At Sebastopol Independent Charter School (SICS), regular walking and rolling has become a part of their school culture and more children are walking/bicycling to school than ever, thanks to the efforts of Principal Susan Olson and a passionate SRTS parent committee! At SICS, every Wednesday is Walk and Roll to School Day. Four walking school bus/bike train routes – labeled yellow, green, red, and blue - depart from local meeting points, led by parents and upper grade students. Tallies are taken on Wednesdays, and each week, the Golden Sneaker Award travels to a different classroom. The competition has been fierce between classrooms competing for the coveted Golden Sneaker. Carpools are counted in the tallies as well. Regular walkers/rollers can also fill out yellow tally cards each month to increase their chances of winning a raffle for a bicycle in May. One surprise Wednesday a month, Welcome Table awaits students, giving away small surprises (i.e. pencils) to walkers, bicyclists, and carpoolers. The SRTS committee recently created a map. adapted from the Sebastopol School District’s new “Safer Routes to School” map, highlighting the Walk/Roll school bus routes. A large version of the map is posted in a visible area on site, and will also be distributed in 8 ½ x 11 size to all families this month, along with a brochure highlighting the components of their Walk/Roll program.
To request a sample PDF of the SICS map and brochure, or receive guidance on how to establish your own Walking School Bus program, contact saferoutes@bikesonoma.org
To request a sample PDF of the Sebastopol School District’s “Safer Routes to School Map” and find out how the Sebastopol Safe Routes to School Program developed this resource, also contact saferoutes@bikesonoma.org
4. INSPIRING SRTS PROGRAM MODEL: ALPINE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
The National Center for Safe Routes to School awarded Alpine Elementary School, in Alpine, Utah, the 2010 James L. Oberstar Safe Routes to School Award, a national annual award that recognizes outstanding achievement in conducting a Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program.
In 2008, Alpine Elementary started its SRTS program with the theme BEE Safe, BEE Fit, BEE Kind. The goal was “to empower students to make a difference in their daily lives and the lives of others, all the while, integrating safety into their actions,” and included a partnership with Candle Light School in Kenya, Africa. Over the past two years, Alpine Elementary students have walked over 72,000 miles, and raised enough money through private donations to purchase three months’ worth of lunches for the entire Candlelight student body, and a cow and several goats and chickens for the school’s farm.
“We are very thankful for what all the students, teachers and parents of Alpine Elementary are doing to ensure other children from a very different culture have an opportunity to enjoy life and have self-esteem,” said Fred Afwai, principal and founder of Candle Light School in Nairobi, Kenya.
Having experienced two car crashes involving student pedestrians on their way to school prior to beginning the SRTS program, Alpine Elementary has also been vigilant about teaching safety skills. Students have participated in bicycle rodeos, pedestrian safety walks, assemblies, and safety poster contests. Parents were also encouraged to remind students about safety rules as they walked and pedaled in family participation activities. The school also utilized The Student Neighborhood Access Program (SNAP) to create their safe walking route plan or SNAP map to help facilitate these activities.
“The pure energy, creativity and dedication of Alpine Elementary School’s students and parents are inspiring,” said Lauren Marchetti, director of the National Center for Safe Routes to School. “Their Safe Routes to School program’s overarching strategy to use student-led activities and parental and community involvement is not only working well but it serves as a wonderful model for schools across the country.”
Alpine Elementary is part of the Alpine School District, the lowest funded school district in the nation. The school has received federal SRTS funding through the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) in the amount of $71,500, to install four solar-powered speed limit signs designed to slow traffic and improve student visibility at crosswalks, build a new walking/bicycling trail, make improvements to the bicycle storage area, and to support encouragement and educational activities. Alpine City donated approximately $125,000 in labor and materials toward improving routes to school.
5. SEBASTOPOL SRTS BIKE CLUB A ROUSING SUCCESS – YOU CAN DO IT TOO!
This past September & October, Brook Haven Middle school REACH students learned how to become proficient bike riders by participating in a 5-week after-school Bike Club, sponsored by the Sebastopol School District Safe Routes to School Program. During five 90-minute club sessions, kids learned how bicycling provides both freedom and responsibility, learned tips and tricks of how to “drive” their bikes safely on the road, and participated in fun activities to inspire them to ride and to do so safely. The class was taught by trained Safe Routes to Schools educational consultants and funded in part by REACH, and in part by the Sebastopol School District SRTS Program.
Is your school or after-school program interested in hosting an in school or after-school bicycle skill class, unit or club? The Sonoma County SRTS program can provide a host teacher with scripted bicycle skill/safety lessons appropriate for grades 4-8, and meet with a teacher and/or school administrator to discuss implementation, as well as options for additional support. Contact tinap@bikesonoma.org to find out what this could entail for your site.
6. REGISTER NOW FOR THE ONLINE 511.org SCHOOL POOL SYSTEM – (online car, walk, and bike pool matching)
Please consider enrolling your site in the 511.org online school pool system and then, once you are registered, promoting the system through your parent communication channels. This is a fabulous opportunity to facilitate parents connecting with one another to form walk, bike, and carpools to/from school. The system is safe, protects privacy, and is completely free to users. It was developed by the regional Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), which also operates the 511 Traveler information program which provides free traffic, transit, rideshare, and bicycling information.
To register, please send an email with your school name, school district, and school address to Tina Panza at tinap@bikesonoma.org. The school principal must either initiate the email, or be copied on the email, to indicate that the request has been approved by school administration.
Marin County was the first county to implement a school pool system last year, and now every school in Marin is registered in the system. So far, only a few Sonoma County Schools have registered! Please send an email today with your school name & address so that we can enter your school into the system.
To demo the system, follow these instructions:
1) Go to https://www.schoolpool.511.org
2) Click on “Register Here”
3) Read/Agree to all the terms by checking all the confirmation boxes and clicking “I Agree” at the bottom of the page
4) Enter information into the “parent information” and “contact information” sections – you can use made-up names, phone numbers, etc.
5) In the “Home Address” section, use the following for your home address:
360 Palm Avenue, Oakland, CA 94610
6) Add at least one child to the system (again, the information can be made-up) and agree to the terms again
7) For District: Choose the “Z-Test District”
8) For School: Choose the “Z-Test Elementary School”
9) Answer remaining questions (can be made-up) and continue
10) Select the child you want to get “matches” for
11) Click the “Match Request” box
12) Confirm/modify search
13) View your “match page”
The Sonoma County Safe Routes to School Program is the sponsoring agency for the 511 School Pool system in Sonoma County.
7. DEC SRTS NEWSLETTER BLURB AND ACTIVITIES IDEAS FOR ONGOING WALK/ROLL ENCOURAGEMENT/EDUCATION
December Newsletter Blurb:
Get in the Holiday Spirit
There is nothing like a walk outside in on a crisp cold day to get into the holiday spirit. Now is the time to stay active in anticipation of those hefty holiday meals to come. Set up a routine with your child to walk or bike to school at least once a week. Walking one mile to and from school each day is two-thirds of the recommended sixty minutes of physical activity a day. Plus, children who walk to school have higher levels of physical activity throughout the day.
Extra item: Maybe if Santa rode a bike instead of a sled he wouldn’t be carrying around all those extra pounds. Check out this YouTube video for some ideas on tying in cycling with global warming:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iwtekh4vAjw
December Activity Ideas:
- Holiday Stroll and Roll – Have those that person your tables dress up as elves. Serve hot chocolate.
- Polar Bear Days – Use this opportunity to highlight global warming. Provide information about Climate Change and its affect on the Polar Bears to the teachers to discuss in class.
- Bike Giveaway – Have a bike drive that requests used bikes and partner with a local bike shop to fix them up and give them away to kids without bikes. (note this will take at least 1-2 months of advance planning. You can also do this in January after kids have received new bikes for the holidays – there are usually lots of used bikes that become available)
- Start a weekly or monthly “Golden Sneaker Award.” To request a Golden Sneaker Award Guidebook, email saferoutes@bikesonoma.org or download at
8. TEAM LEADERS: SEND US YOUR iWALK/ROLL STORIES AND PICTURES!
While we received some wonderful, positive feedback on your Walk/Roll Count Sheets, we still only have specific “stories” and pictures for a few schools. We would love to hear your stories and we would love to have your pictures as well. Please email to saferoutes@bikesonoma.org. When it comes to stories, the information we are most interested in is:
· What specifically did you do to make your event a success? How did you let students know about it and get them excited to participate? This question is particularly for schools who saw significant increases in the number of kids who walked/biked vs. a normal day, regardless of participation rates.
· What are you most proud of this year?
· Have you been inspired to continue to encourage kids to walk/bicycle on an ongoing basis? If so, what are your plans this year? If not, why not?
· Do you know of a student who has changed their behavior as a result of walking/bicycling that day?
· Have you noticed any increases in the number of kids who bike or walk now?
· Are there any parents/children who have shared personal stories with you, who would be willing/able to share their stories with us and the community at large? For example, a parent who started leading a walking school bus, or a child that started walking more frequently as a result of school encouragement?
9. GUIDE TO BUYING BICYCLES FOR KIDS: INFO TO SEND HOME TO PARENTS BEFORE THE HOLIDAYS!:
Please consider sending this information home to parents before the holidays:
Guide for Buying Bikes for Your Kids
Thinking about surprising your child with a shiny, new bike this holiday season? Well, think again. It’s generally not a good idea to purchase a bike that you “guesstimate” is about your child’s size. Even worse, avoid purchasing a brand new bike that’s a little big so your child can grow into it. An oversized bike can make it difficult for your child to maintain control and ride safely on the roads.
So grab a tape measure and instead of focusing on the element of surprise this holiday, focus on obtaining your child’s measurements in advance of purchasing a new bike. This will insure that your son or daughter’s new bike is a proper fit, and a pleasure to ride. A proper fitting bike will maximize your child’s control of the bike, as well as their safety when biking on the road alongside cars.
An accurate inseam measurement is what you’ll need to provide to a local bike shop. To measure your child, ask them to stand with their back against a wall, barefoot, with their feet six inches apart on a hard floor. Place a book firmly between their legs to simulate sitting on a bicycle seat. Measure from the top of the book to the floor bottom. Of course, if you are planning to surprise your child with a new bike then you will need to be clever when they ask you why you are doing this. One suggestion is to tell them that you are making sure that their current bike is a proper fit.
Children’s bike sizes are determined by wheel diameter, not frame size. It would be helpful if you could also provide your local bike shop with the wheel size of your child’s current bike: 12”, 16”, 20” and 24”.
Purchasing a new bike with an adjustable seat is also a wise idea. Most quality bikes have what’s called a quick-release at the base of the bike seat. Ask your child to sit on the seat with both hands on the handlebar (after they have stopped jumping up and down with excitement about their new bike). He or she should be able to place both feet on the ground. If not, then slightly adjust their seat up or down so they can comfortably straddle the bike flat footedly. No tippy toes, please! On boys’ bikes, there should be one inch of clearance between their crotch and the horizontal bar. If the measurements that you provided to the bike shop were accurate, then you will hopefully not have to adjust the seat at all.
Lastly, don’t forget to make sure your child’s bike helmet is a proper fit – just like their brand new bike. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that helmets are 85 percent effective in reducing head injuries. It’s very important that your child’s helmet not be tilted back, exposing their forehead. And if it’s too low on the forehead, then the back of the head becomes vulnerable. A level worn helmet is what you need to teach your child. No loose chin strips either! A snug, level fitting helmet should be your child’s goal every time they ride their bike.
10. BECOME OUR FACEBOOK FRIEND
Did you know that the Sonoma County Safe Routes to School Program has a Facebook page?
If you are a “facebooking person” please consider “liking” us to receive updates on SRTS related happenings in Sonoma County and beyond.
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Sonoma-County-Safe-Routes-to-School/288911572777
11. CHECK OUT THE SONOMA COUNTY SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL WEBSITE!
The Sonoma County Safe Routes to School Program also has a website where you can learn more about the five E’s of a comprehensive Safe Routes to School Program – Education, Encouragement, Engineering, Enforcement, and Evaluation. There are downloadable resources available for each of the E’s, including lesson plans from our CA standards based K-6 SRTS curriculum guide. More information and links to specific web resources will be highlighted in future e-newsletters.
12. CONTACT INFORMATION FOR CITY/AREA SRTS LEADS
Cities/Area Leads:
Cotati: Tina Panza - tinap@bikesonoma.org
Cloverdale: Tim Gonzalez - tiburcio@sonic.net
Healdsburg: Tim Gonzalez - tiburcio@sonic.net or Lissa Beard - lbeard@husd.com
Petaluma: Becky Schuerman-Choi - bschuerman@juno.com
Monte Rio/River: Tim Gonzalez - tiburcio@sonic.net
Rohnert Park: Amy Jolly - amybjolly@yahoo.com
Sebastopol/West County: Steven Schmitz – steven@sctransit.com
Sonoma: Carole Latorre – latorrec@aol.com
Santa Rosa: Tina Panza – tinap@bikesonoma.org
Windsor: Laurel Green – lgreen@wusd.org
School Districts with Federal SRTS Grants:
Bellevue School District/Santa Rosa: Lacinda Moore – laci@bikesonoma.org
Roseland School District/Santa Rosa: Lacinda Moore – laci@bikesonoma.org
Sebastopol Union School District School District: Sarah Hadler – sjhadler@aol.com
Cotati/Rohnert Park School District: Amy Jolly – ambjolly@yahoo.com
Hope the remainder of October and month of November is a fabulous one for you and your students! Feel free to email saferoutes@bikesonoma.org at anytime with questions, concerns, or feedback about Safe Routes to School related issues. The November issue of SRTS E-News will be emailed in early November and monthly thereafter.
All the best,
The Sonoma County Safe Routes to School Team
Tina Panza
Director, Safe Routes to School
Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition
mobile: 707-799-3911
Office:
707.545.0153, fax: 707.573-0147
Mail: PO Box 3088, Santa Rosa, CA 95402-3088
Office: 750 Mendocino Ave. Suite 6, Santa Rosa CA
The Sonoma County Safe Routes to School program, funded in part by the Measure M transportation tax and in part by short-term federal grants to specific local jurisdictions, provides guidance and resources to schools interested in implementing at least one component of a Safe Routes to School program, as funding permits. The goal of Safe Routes to School programs is to encourage walking and bicycling where it is safe, and to make changes where it is not safe. SRTS programs do this through an integrated approach that includes five E's - encouragement, education, evaluation, engineering, and enforcement. However, a school can launch a SRTS program with just one component, and build from there. In doing so, SRTS programs address health and safety by reducing traffic congestion around schools, increasing physical activity, encouraging lifestyle changes for families, creating safer, calmer streets and neighborhoods, and improving air quality and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition is the lead implementation agency for the county SRTS program.
