Stop & Walk Program PLAYBOOK

Stop & Walk Program Playbook Table of Contents What’s It All About?..………………………….…………………...………3  Fun Facts & A Little History How Do I Get Started Step 1: Get the Right People Together ………………..… Step 2: Choose a Start Date & Notify the Right People ……5 Step 3: Build Volunteer Teams ………………...….………6-7 Step 4: Build Your Timelines ……………...…………………8 Resources ………………………………………...……………………….…9  Samples  ReadyMade Forms & Documents  Website Links

Fast Facts About the City of Roseville’s Stop & Walk Program A Stop & Walk is an alternative location where parents can drop their students off for school to avoid school parking lot congestion and to keep the streets in the immediate vicinity of the school clear. In addition, Stop & Walks…  Bring the School Community Together EVERY week  Promote Safe Drop Off Zones  Raises Driver Awareness of Students Walking  Helps Parents & Students Identify Walking & Biking Barriers  Encourages Parents to Use Alternative Student Drop Off Locations  Promotes Safe Routes to School Initiatives  Promotes a More Active Lifestyle  Is Fun! 2010 – The City of Roseville Safe Routes to School Staff identified approximately 16 “Stop & Walk” locations around 4 schools – Silverado Middle School was the first school to participate in the Stop & Walk week-long campaign & year-long weekly program! 2012 – Silverado Middle School is still participating on a weekly/monthly basis. Other schools are using their Stop & Walks in conjunction with their other Weekly Walking programs. What’s It All About?

Organize Your School’s Stop & Walk Program Step 1 – Get the Right People Together  Principals – It is important to get the school principal “on board” with the program. They will be your support and advocate to the PTA & other parent volunteers. They will also help you promote the program to the school wide community through , newsletters, bulletin boards, classroom & school announcements.  PTA / Parent Volunteers – Get “buy-in” from your school’s PTA as soon as possible. This program is in direct alignment with the PTA mission of student enrichment. The PTA also has the greatest access to parent volunteers. Looking forward, you can ask the PTA to designate a “Chairperson” position specifically dedicated to Safe Routes to School. Once the position is created, it is more likely to be carried on in future years.  Police / Fire Departments – Notifying the Police & Fire Departments of the program. Ask them to be an occasional presence in the Stop & Walk area to help be extra “eyes” on the road.  City Officials, Local Media (i.e. Mayor, Manager, Traffic Operations, Newspapers, TV) & Local Businesses – Tell the media about the program! It will help get the word out to more families and will also promote the program to schools that are not participating yet! Ask local businesses for raffle donations to reward students for Stopping & Walking! Stop & Walk Locations are meant for parents & students to use “on their own”. Your job as the organizer is to pick & promote your chosen locations…and to occasionally reward students for using them with raffles! How Do I Get Started?

Step 2 – Choose a Start Date & a Date for a Kickoff Week  Date – Choose a date near the start of the school year (approximately 1 month after school starts). This will give you enough time to advertise to students, solicit prize donations & line up the right people.  Notify the Right People – School Administrator - find out if the kickoff week dates will work for them. If it does not work, that is OK! Find out what start date works best for them. Then choose one day per week that students can Stop & Walk to earn raffle tickets (if that is going to be part of your program). Police Department - let them know you are planning a Weekly Stop & Walks in your community. Tell them what day of the week you will be walking and ask them if they can be extra ‘eyes’ on major intersections. Every school has an officer assigned to it. City of Roseville Safe Routes to School Team - ask them if they have resources that may be able to help you. Adult Crossing Guard (assigned to your school) - to let them know the start date of the Stop & Walk Program. Teachers – It is crucial that you communicate with teachers. Students and parents assume that teachers know every detail about all the activities at the school. ‘Arm’ your teachers with the answers ahead of time. This will help them get answers to families fast and will also cut down on the amount of time you spend returning s & calls! Please ask for help if you need it! The City of Roseville Safe Routes to School Staff is eager and willing to help you get started! How Do I Get Started? Organize Your School’s Stop & Walk Program

Step 3 – Build Volunteer Teams  Advertising - This team would be responsible for creating and distributing flyers, designing and hanging signs & banners and communicating any Stop & Walk details with the school community via PTA Newsletters, and/or School Newsletters. Enlist students to help you! They can design signage!  Mapping - This team would be responsible for developing a “Stop & Walk Route Map”. They would start by identifying the most frequently traveled streets and entry points into campus and then work backward from there. The Stop & Walk locations should be approximately ¼ to ½ a mile from the school campus. If possible, locate the Stop & Walks near bike paths that lead to school campuses. The Stop & Walk locations should NOT be on any streets in the immediate vicinity of the school. If you would like an aerial image of your school boundaries, please contact the City of Roseville Safe Routes to School Staff ). (See route map Don’t try to “go it alone”! Ask parents and members of the immediate community to help you. Many hands make little work! How Do I Get Started? Organize Your School’s Stop & Walk Program

Step 3 – Build Volunteer Teams (cont.)  Weekly and/or Monthly Giveaways & Incentives– This team would be responsible for soliciting donations to giveaway to students who participate in the program. Students will receive a raffle ticket from the parent volunteer assigned to their Stop & Walk location. They would take that raffle ticket and place it in a raffle bin on campus where it can later be drawn from to win prizes! These donations can be obtained from area businesses for weekly or monthly raffles (i.e. ice cream gift certificates, pizza gift certificates, passes for recreational activities etc.) You do not have to spend money to have incentives. Most businesses will give you gift certificates as a donation. If you have no budget for incentives then get creative. Extra recess, longer lunch, movie day, walk to the park and more!  Parent Volunteer Recruiters - This team would be responsible for recruiting volunteer parents to be Stop & Walk Hosts. (It is suggested that there is one parent per Stop & Walk and that you only ask them to commit to walk one time per month – make it a small commitment and they will be more likely to say “yes”). They would be assigned a “stop” and a “stop time” closest to their home (these are identified on the route maps you create). This team would prepare a packet of information to distribute to the volunteer parents prior to program kickoff. The packet would include a name tag (on a lanyard), raffle tickets supply (if you plan to give out prizes), route map and Stop & Walk schedule for the year (which includes: all parent s, phone numbers, route stops & times and day that they committed to walk – see sample). Don’t skip the Weekly or Monthly giveaways! Students are more likely to participate if they know they might win a raffle! How Do I Get Started? Organize Your School’s Stop & Walk Program

Step 4 – Build Your Timelines  Advertising Dates – Advertising should occur approximately 2 weeks prior to program kickoff and then steadily increase frequency of advertising as the event approaches. Use the School & PTA Newsletters and the School Marquee (if the school has one). Send a school wide that highlights the important details of the program. Send Stop & Walk Location Maps & Program Flyer home with students. Notify the media, police & any community/neighborhood watch group, if necessary. Prior to kickoff, use the “Parking Lot Business Cards” to advertise to parents who drop their students off on a regular basis. (See sample). These cards can be handed to parents to as they drop their students off in the parking lot to encourage them to try a Stop & Walk.  Entire Program Timeline – Do you plan to have weekly or monthly giveaways? If so, coordinate ALL the dates with the school secretary before you launch your program. What is your start date? What is your end date? Any special dates in between? Make sure you put them on the school calendar! Once you have everything written down, it will help you keep track of what you need to do next. There are lots of details when you first kick off…but then, the program practically runs itself! How Do I Get Started? Organize Your School’s Stop & Walk Program

 Samples Map Donation Letter (Link – Word)  Ready-Made Forms & Documents Flyer (Link – Publisher) Stop & Walk Business Cards (Link – Word) Stop & Walk Parent Schedule (Link – Excel) Volunteer Nametags (Link – Word)  Other Website Links Walkability / Bikeability Checklists ( NCSRTS Walkability Checklist AND NCSRTS Bikeability Checklist )NCSRTS Walkability ChecklistNCSRTS Bikeability Checklist Parent Survey of Walking / Biking to School ( Parent Survey )Parent Survey Student Arrival & Departure Tally Sheet ( Student Travel Tally )Student Travel Tally Center’s for Disease Control (CDC) Walk to School Presentation ( CDC Presentation ) CDC Presentation iWalk Website ( ) Don’t try and re-invent the wheel! Feel free to use these resources and “tweak” them to fit your school! Contact us anytime if you need help or have questions! Resources Organize Your School’s Stop & Walk Program