Over the last two years GreenTown Los Altos, working with public school teachers within Los Altos and Los Altos Hills, have surveyed how students travel to school.
In the latest survey ended May 2013, 67% of 7-8th graders, 51% of 4-6 graders, and 41% of K-3 graders – Walked, biked, carpooled, bused, or scootered to school.
WoW! 67% of 7-8th graders, 51% of 4-6 graders, 41% of K-3 graders -walked, biked, carpooled, bused, or scootered to school!!!
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After two years of tracking students, there is a noticeable trend.
- Most K-2 grade students are driven to school which makes sense given their age.
- In 3rd and 4th grades, parents organize carpools rather than solo trips.
- In 5th and 6th grades, the carpools become students who bike to school as parents recognize children are becoming old enough to transport themselves.
- In 7th and 8th grades, students transfer from local elementary schools to middle schools, usually farther away. To travel to the longer distance, students opt to bike to school rather than be driven. Again, the transition to middle school corresponds to students starting to show their independence and being more self reliant as well as parents giving the child more freedom to be accountable.
For the 2013-14 school year, GreenTown’s Bike/Walk program is concentrating efforts to increase bike education in the elementary schools – specifically 3rd and 4th graders by:
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- Organizing a program to increase student bike trains, providing maps with departure times, educating parents about the safety and benefits of biking to school.
- Continuing bike rodeo support in the elementary schools and bike safety education for 7th graders. Our goal is to increase the number of WoW students by 10% from the May 2013 survey.
To help make a difference in our community, we count on our membership to support efforts to increase safety around our schools and support a better transportation method. If you want to be the difference in student transportation, become a member at http://www.greentownlosaltos.org/
