How to Start a Walking School Bus Program Created by: The Cedar Rapids Walking School Bus Committee A show of hands - how many of you drop your kids off at school in the morning? How many of you find school drop-off to be a stress-free time, a time that you look forward to every day? What – no one? I am here to announce today that the Cedar Rapids Walking School Bus Committee is waging a war against school drop-off and we hope you will join us in this fight. Now, to be honest, that is not our primary goal. Our primary goal is to see the well-being of your children improve but walking school buses have the added bonus of getting you out of the wonderful experience of school drop-off.

What is a Walking School Bus (WSB)? A Walking School Bus is a group of children walking to and/or from school with two or more adults VIDEO The response that we hear most often when we start talking about walking school buses is, “What is a walking school bus?”. In fact, you may be thinking that very thing right now so let me answer that question for you. A walking school bus is simply a group of children walking to and/or from school with two or more adults, often referred to as bus drivers or conductors. Here is a short video that will give you a more complete picture of what a walking school bus is.

Why start a Walking School Bus? Promotes a healthy lifestyle Teaches traffic safety Keeps children safe from danger Increases self confidence and a sense of responsibility Improves learning Develops social skills Instills a sense of community Reduces traffic congestion Creates a cleaner environment FUN!!! A walking school bus promotes a healthy lifestyle in both the students and the adult volunteers by demonstrating how beneficial and fun it can be to walk, especially with your friends and classmates. A walking school bus also helps teach children essential traffic safety principles that will be useful throughout the remainder of their lives. Walking with others protects children from predators. Quite often the older children in a walking school bus start looking out for the younger children and feel a sense of responsibility for them. This results in the older children feeling more self-confident. A walking school bus also improves learning because children arrive at school alert and more ready to learn. Children who participate in walking school buses interact with each other and the bus drivers as they all walk to school. This time is valuable in developing good social skills that will serve them well into the future. Both adults and children who participate in walking school buses gain a greater sense of community because they are sharing a community experience that is relational and spans across generations. One of the more obvious reasons to start a walking school bus is that it reduces traffic congestion around the school, making it safer for everyone, even those who are not part of the walking school bus. And this results in better air quality. And finally, the best reason to start a walking school bus is because it is FUN!

How does it work? Participants register for the WSB Two or more trained adult volunteers “drive” the bus Routes are set on commonly used paths to school Routes include one or more designated stops where students may join the bus Bus driver tracks attendance Parents register their children to become part of the walking school bus. Two or more trained adult volunteers walk the participants to school. Usually one adult leads the bus and is called the bus driver. A second adult is stationed at the back of the bus and is commonly referred to as the conductor. More adults may accompany the bus but at a minimum, we recommend two adults for every 12 children. The routes are generally along paths that are already used to walk to school. There are designated times for stops along the routes where students can join the bus, making it also possible for those who live far away from the school to join the bus. They can be dropped off at any of the designated bus stops. Attendance is tracked by the bus driver and reported to the appropriate authority.

What does a WSB have to do with the Blue Zones Project®? A WSB is one of the programs that may be implemented at a school to help become a designated Blue Zones School® Promotes Blue Zones Power 9® principles Move naturally Sense of Purpose Social Connectedness WSB Committee Useful resource to assist with starting a WSB If your school is wanting to become a designated Blue Zones School, the implementation of a walking school bus gains 3 points of the 54 needed to gain that designation. In addition, the walking school bus promotes some of the Blue Zones Power 9 principles. The Walking School Bus Committee is one aspect of the Blue Zones Project and is a great resource to help you with starting a walking school bus.

How do I get a Walking School Bus started at my school? Assemble committee Identify routes Determine schedule Register participants Recruit & train volunteers First you’ll want to assemble a committee. Potential members could be parents or guardians of students, school employees, community volunteers, local business employees or neighborhood church members. Then you’ll need to identify the walking school bus routes. This should include the designated stops and times for each route. The Cedar Rapids Public Works Department can help if you aren’t sure how to proceed. Next, you’ll need to determine the schedule. Do you want the walking school bus to go year round or just part of the year? Do you want it to be every day of the week or fewer days? Do you want the bus to travel to and from school or just to school? Maybe you start small with just one day a week to school and work up to a more comprehensive schedule. You can find examples ranging from schools who go year round both to and from school every day of the week to those who go just one day a week in the fall and spring. You can tailor the schedule to what will work best for your school. Then you will need to get participants registered. We have a sample registration form that you can edit and use for this process. Finally, you will need to recruit and train volunteers. Volunteers can be parents or guardians of students, school neighbors or partners, or local volunteer and civic organizations.

How do we make it work? Cedar Rapids Walking School Bus Committee Start planning early Contact the city Public Works Department for route concerns/hazards Reach out to community-based groups for volunteers/assistance Market your program to both students and their parents Educate the parents of benefits of WSB Parents are in routine of driving their children to school * The Cedar Rapids Walking School Bus Committee is a great resource to assist you with any step of the planning and implementation process. It is very important to start planning early. This will allow you plenty of time to address any issues that might arise and reduce the stress level of everyone involved. The Cedar Rapids Public Works Department can help with route issues such as tripping hazards or obstacles on sidewalks. They can also help improve the safety of routes. For example they might install additional signage that could help slow down traffic. There are many community-based groups that can be great sources for volunteers. For example, the Johnson Avenue HyVee is the school partner for Jackson Elementary School so Jackson is reaching out to them for potential bus drivers. Other sources could be civic or volunteer organizations that are looking for ways to get involved in their community It is important to market your program to both students and their parents. Word of mouth can be a very strong force and the more people who know about your program, the more successful you will be. Some possible marketing opportunities include PTO meetings, school orientation, school activities, classroom curriculum, and any regular school communications to parents. Part of the communication to parents should include information about the benefits of participating in the walking school bus. Parents are in the routine of driving their children to school and changing that routine will only happen if they realize how beneficial the walking school bus can be to both their children and to them. For example, at Jackson Elementary, there is a mom who lives a couple of miles west of the school and is over a mile from the walking school bus route. She drops her daughter off at the one of the stops and is able to use the time she didn’t spend dropping Emily off at school for other things.

How do we keep it going? Recruit committee members who are committed and enthusiastic Provide incentives for participants Reward and recognize volunteers Schedule local “celebrities” to walk with the bus Evaluate your program to identify potential improvements MAKE IT FUN!!! How can you make sure your walking school bus continues into the future? Here are just a few ideas for success. Recruit committee members who are committed and enthusiastic. A walking school bus program is not sustainable if just one person is doing all the work so it is important that you find committee members who are passionate about the walking school bus and willing to help out. Incentives for participants can include give-away items like T-shirts or something simple like pencils or erasers. Contests can also be a good way to keep students involved. Occasionally you might want to have local celebrities like police officers or firefighters or local mascots like Ricochet or Mr. Shucks come walk with the kids. And you should evaluate your program at least annually to identify areas that can be improved. And, of course, make it fun! I can promise you that making it fun is the easiest thing to do. We have found that the kids really have a good time just interacting with their classmates and the adult volunteers as they walk along. No one has heard, “I’m bored”.

Questions? Contact Cedar Rapids WSB Committee Co-Chairs Karla Underwood karla.underwood@genmills.com Cari Pauli c.pauli@cedar-rapids.org All of the members of the Walking School Bus Committee are committed to helping you have a successful walking school bus program no matter what shape it might take.