report on Walk-to-School Day at Hoover Elementary

All-Week Program 'Walk-to-School Day' promotes alternative transportation to school: walk, ride a bike, scooter, skateboard or blades, bus or carpool (a carpool has to have at least one child from another family.) The City has program called Way2Go encouraging alternative transportation.

Walking School Bus We had a 'Walking School Bus' all week from Mitchell Park: park your car there, join a group of parents and students and take the 5-minute walk to Hoover. We hoped to introduce parents to an alternative way to get their children to school, and maybe some parents would even get together to continue the Walking School Bus. I think a nice little walk in the open air is a good alternative to driving all the way to the school campus and sit there stuck in slow-moving traffic; and it would relieve that traffic congestion.

Stickers and Raffle Tickets We distributed stickers and raffle tickets to qualifying students every day of the Walk-to-School-Day week, and on Walk-to-School Day we gave out Way2Go keychains/zipper pullers. The raffle prizes were red blinking Way2Go triangle lights, I think most kids really wanted them. The raffle reached the kids and got them to make their parents walk. Small print on ticket: Hoover Elementary Walk-to-School-Day Week 2002. One ticket a day issued to students using alternative transportation. A carpool has to have at least one member of another family. Non-transferable. Not more than five tickets per student. Not more than one prize per student. Put your tickets in the raffle box before 10:10 AM on Friday, October 4.

(Printed in grayscale, small print added.)

I was at a table in the schoolyard with the raffle box during morning recess most mornings of the week (the co-coordinator took over for one morning) to promote the program, answer questions, show the prizes, help kids fill out and deposit their tickets, and deal with kids that did not get a ticket. I tried to ask them why and had them write their name on a list; I later entered special tickets with those names. Handing out tickets at that table would have been too tempting.
At other times the raffle box was in the office.

Friday after recess I drew the winning tickets with two other volunteers; we entered the winners' names on a list by classroom to check for double prizes, and then we sorted out the tickets to check the number of tickets the winners had entered. There were about 500 tickets, and the sorting took us less than half an hour. We put the prizes in the teachers' mailboxes before the lunch break, they were distributed at the end of the school day (where possible) and the list of winners was posted at the office (after lunch.)
The tickets were later used in an interesting distribution analysis.

Classroom Survey
On Walk-to-School Day a classroom survey was planned, right after roll call. The teacher would pose the questions "How did you get to school today?" and "How do you usually get to school?" and record the show of hands for the answers "Walked," "Rode a Bike," "Skateboard/Scooter/Blades," "Bus," "Carpool," or "Family Car." The same survey was done two years ago, at a few City schools also last year, and there are some numbers for 1994.

Results

We did build a larger interest than usual for the Walk-to-School Day by having a program all week; in the first two days less than ten children joined the Walking School Bus, more than forty on Wednesday, and on the last two days we had about 25.
Amazingly, on Walk-to-School Day 63% of students used alternative transportation to get to school, way up from the 46% of two years ago, and traffic was pleasantly light at the school that day. For the last days of the week traffic was a little lighter than usual, but the next week it was back to normal.

It is beyond me why some people that live close to the school insist on driving their children over; I think we were successful in showing them an alternative but what else can we do? You can lead a horse to the water, but you can't make it drink.

Communications

A short announcement in the school's weekly Newsletter introduced the Walking School Bus 10 days before the event. A week later, Friday before the event, the Newsletter carried three Walk-to-School Day pieces: Rewards for Using Alternative Transportation told about stickers and raffle tickets; the Walking School Bus was further explained and there was a map of its terminal in the park; and my co-coordinator wrote Ten Good Reasons to Walk or Bike to School. On the Monday of Walk-to-School Day Week I sent an email to the teachers, explaining the raffle, and asking for their cooperation. It should have gone out earlier and it would have been a good opportunity to mention the upcoming classroom survey. At the end of the week I had a column in the weekly Newsletter reporting on the high turnout. In the week after the event the Newsletter carried a page on Walk-to-School Day and raffle statistics.

Comments, Criticism, Recommendations

• I should have stuck with the original plan that the raffle tickets could also be used for buying small items like the keychains or tie-dye handkerchiefs, voiding them for the raffle of course. Having the students make that choice would have been an educational experience.
  That way, he keychains would have been used as a reward, not as an unexpected little present, and the distribution would have been less unfair, we ran out of them on Wednesday. In case any had been left, I would have used them up in the raffle.
  I had the multiple items in the handouts taped together for dispensing speed.
• Looking at the statistics I cannot think of another explanation for the large differences in participation between classrooms than what the teachers say about it. But how to reach them and with what? But maybe I'm underestimating the kids working each other.
• I should have tried harder to find people interested in continuing the Walking School Bus, and I should have had a program in place, i.e. a flyer with contact information on the last day, or maybe all week; but only one person showed any interest.
  A few more parents may have started using the way through the Park, but I don't have high hopes for a walking school bus continuing. In a neighborhood walking school bus you know the other parents and kids; I don't think too many parents would want to surrender their kids to people they only vaguely know.
  I had hoped to build up a large group at the Park every morning, to walk to school together; I was actually quite disappointed that most parents did not want to wait but started for school right away. It may also be that the walk is an opportunity for parents and children to have a nice little chat.
• Hoover has two main entrances: the gate at the Kindergarten Drop-Off and the crosswalk near the office: both were (mostly) covered by volunteers handing out stickers and tickets; the small gate near the exit at Stevenson House had a notice where to get them.
  The (regular) school bus drops off its kids about 30 feet from the office crosswalk; I had hoped for a special volunteer on the first day to meet the bus with Way2Go stickers (they mention 'Bus') and raffle tickets, to show these students they're included, and they should have been told to get their stickers and tickets from the regular dispenser for the rest of the week. But this special volunteer did not materialize ("Scotty?"), so the regular volunteer walked over when the bus arrived, and did that every day of the week. I think that was pushing the handouts too much, while other kids slipped through.
• In the raffle, two kids had entered seven tickets, and five had entered six. We did not disqualify these students because before the drawing we had set the limit at seven. Amy suggested to do the sorting next time before the drawing, to reduce over-limit students to five tickets; I'd like to take that a little further and dock all students who should know better (2nd grade and up) one ticket for each one they have over five. The sorting of about 500 tickets took the three of us less than half an hour, not a big job and we want to be fair.

• The email to the teachers explaining the program should have gone out Thursday before the week of the event, and it should have mentioned the upcoming Survey.
• I registered with the State office and had the 'starter package' with extra posters sent to the school address; as it never arrived, the secretaries got irritated with me asking for it every day. I should have given my home address.
• Checking with the secretary if the survey had gone out to the teachers on Tuesday afternoon, I should have had a copy with me to show and if necessary use.
• The raffle tickets should clearly state the closing time and day.
• Nobody wanted a cart at the Walking School Bus.

Marco Schuffelen