Summer Reading: New Resource for Safe Routes to School

Heading to the beach and looking for some reading material?  Interested in what local communities and schools can do to implement Safe Routes to School programming or, more generally, get kids safe and active?  Why, we have a pdf for you!

The Safe Routes to School National Partnership is a national network of 500+ organizations, agencies, schools and professional groups working to further Safe Routes to School programming.  We (Safe Routes Philly) are a partner organization, and we contributed to a spiffy new resource the National Partnership has just published.


Their Local Policy Guide is a detailed guide for local communities, schools, and others (yes, even your Beach House Owners' Neighborhood Association Service Committee) interested in policy change.  Twenty examples are covered, from crossing guards to regional transportation plans.  The guide is available online, along with many other resources for those interested in making walking and biking to school safer, and in fostering livable, sustainable communities.


If reading at the beach, we recommend sunglasses to cut down the glare coming off them shiny .pdf pages.

Bringing A Walking Schoolbus To Willard Elementary

A few weeks ago, Willard Elementary in the Kensington section of Philadelphia was awarded a $1,000 Safe Routes To School minigrant.  Safe Routes Philly helped the school apply for the competitive grant (25 winners of 249 applicants this round), which will be used to start a Walking School Bus.  This is great news for a school facing many external environmental barriers to helping its students make healthy, active transportation choices. 

Recently in the classroom: Coach Cate

On May 23rd, Safe Routes Philly hosted Coach Cate for appearances at two Philadelphia elementary schools.  Catherine "Cate" Dill is a middle school PE teacher from Sudbury, Massachusetts.  On February 1, 2011, she began an unprecedented non-vehicular 5,246 mile trek from Santa Barbara, CA to Boston, MA.  Titled "Let's Get Moving America," her impressive trip promotes physical activity throughout the school day, eating nutritiously, and living one's passions.


Coach Cate speaking to a class at Abigail Vare Elementary

Coach Cate spoke to around 225 6th-8th graders at Sharswood Elementary and Abigail Vare Elementary schools.  Cate herself was an impressive figure.  Enthusiastic, engaging but genuine, she kept students' attention with her unusual story and her undeniable credentials.  She is walking, running, cycling, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, hiking, and inline skating her way across the country, without support or sponsorship.  Needless to say, Cate exuded an 'outdoorsy' vibe.

The students were very receptive to her presentation, curious about the places she had been, certain practicalities of travelling cross country (Where did she sleep?  Where did she shower?), and the fact that Cate had all of her stuff with her in the classroom.  After the morning's presentations, Cate hit the well-familiar open road heading to New Jersey.

Coach Cate's visits were arranged last minute at both schools through the efforts of teachers and staff committed to wellness education.  Sharswood has a dedicated wellness team, and Safe Routes Philly visited the school last October as part of the school's Get Fit Day.  At Abigail Vale, PE teacher Melissa Ficklin is committed to bringing wellness education to her students.  We are grateful to both schools for working with Safe Routes Philly to bring innovative fitness and wellness education to Philadelphia's schoolchildren.

For more information on Coach Cate's cross-country crusade (five c's!), visit her website.