Several parents at Tatem Elementary School were certainly happy with today’s news from the National Center for Safe Routes to School.
The National Center for Safe Routes to School announced today the selection of its newest mini-grant recipients — a program made possible through the federal Safe Routes to School program. 26 schools, municipalities and organizations from across the country will receive $1,000 to support projects designed to encourage students and their families to safely walk and bicycle to school. The mini-grant activities, many of which are driven by students, will occur during the spring semester of the 2011–2012 school year.
“This is our fifth round of mini-grants, and we continue to be impressed with how communities can leverage a little bit of funding and a lot of commitment to develop new programs and to build upon strategies that may already be working well,” said Lauren Marchetti, director of the National Center for Safe Routes to School. “The community and student leadership recognized here exemplify the forward-thinking mindset that can lead to communities that offer a variety of transportation options.”
Safe Routes to School (SRTS) programs are sustained efforts by schools, parents, schoolchildren, community leaders and local, state, federal and tribal governments to enable and encourage more children to walk and bicycle to school. The National Center, which serves as the clearinghouse for the federal SRTS program, received 212 eligible SRTS mini-grant applications from schools and community organizations nationwide during this fifth award cycle. Proposals selected in the highly competitive process distinguished themselves by identifying a need and proposing a sustainable program to address it.
Proposed mini-grant activities include creating peer mentor programs for walking safety, teaching students how to repair their own bicycles and supporting bicycle helmet usage. Some schools will produce student-designed brochures and provide training for volunteers to enhance oversight of children on their way to and from school.
According to representatives, Tatem Elementary School will the grant to reduce traffic and increase parent buy-in for walking to school by installing signage that increase visibility, by printing maps of satellite parking and by facilitating discussions between the elementary school, the borough and the Haddonfield police. In addition, the school will work with students to roll out several encouragement activities. The Fifth Grade Safety Patrol will create and broadcast public service announcements, and school activities will increase student awareness of and involvement in walking and bicycling to school.
“These mini-grant recipients represent a collection of great ideas and great need,” Marchetti continued. “Some proposals were highly innovative, while others used road-tested methods. The flexibility and creativity shown by the communities who develop strategies to increase safe routes is what makes the mini-grant program work so well.”
