October is International Walk to School Month, which focuses on giving children, parents, educators and community leaders an opportunity to highlight the benefits of walking. ITE has been working in partnership with the for Safe Routes to School to develop informational and training materials for ITE members to better advise, participate and communicate when in involved in safe routes to school (SRTS) activities. This month kicks off our latest effort in the partnership. ITE is beginning development of informational/instructional briefing sheets to further support membership engagement with SRTS coordinators, school officials and other decision makers. The briefing sheets are expected to be available in summer 2012.
In addition, ITE is working with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to enhance the transportation professional’s role in reducing childhood obesity. The result of much of this activity is available at http://www.ite.org/childhoodobesity/default.asp.
As a part of both of these efforts, ITE staff is also working with a local school that received dedicated funds for SRTS engineering improvements and educational outreach. This local effort involves site visits to assess arrival and dismissal patterns; engaging with the local Safe Routes to School Coordinator, the county’s school transportation engineer, school leadership and parents; assessing student behavior pre- and post- improvements; and providing guidance on their outreach and education efforts. The information garnered and results of this activity will available for ITE member use via the briefing sheets and above mentioned Web site.
For more information about this effort, contact Aliyah N. Horton, Senior Director, External Affairs at 202-785-0060 ext. 137; or ahorton@ite.org