Walk to School Day media coverage from across Missouri

October is Walk to School Month in Missouri and across the U.S., with thousands of schools and millions of students participating.  Here is a sample of the Walk to School Month news coverage from across Missouri. 

Walk to School Day at Fleetridge Elementary in Kansas City

Ozarks First covered Bolivar's Walk to School events:

You might notice a few more kids on the sidewalk today. It's International Walk to School Day.  Schools around Missouri are organizing escorted walks for students today and encouraging more kids to walk for the exercise. Bolivar's primary, middle and intermediate schools are participating today, as are dozens more around the state.

 In some districts, families who live further away from school are encouraged to drive part way, park, and have parents walk with their kids the rest of the way.

Springfield and other districts have also set up "walking school buses" - where groups of kids and adults walk a route to school and pick up other kids along the way, like a school bus. 

MoDOT is also involved, overseeing the the Safe Routes to School program, which works with kids to teach them about walking safely and encourage walking and bicycling to school. 

Bayless schools in St. Louis County also celebrated:

Approximately 300 students from the Bayless School District will be walking to school next Wednesday along with parents and district staff. 

Walk to School Day at Fleetridge Elementary in Kansas City

Walk to School Day events raise awareness of the need to create safer routes for walking and bicycling and emphasize the importance of issues such as increasing physical activity among children, pedestrian safety, traffic congestion and concern for the environment. The events build connections between families, schools and the broader community.

The event is being organized by the Bayless High School’s Service Learning class and Bayless Elementary’s physical education teacher, Eileen Berner.

KTTS talked about MoDOT's role in promoting Safe Routes to School and Walk to School day:

October is Walk to School Month and the Missouri Department of Transportation encourages parents and communities to help children establish ongoing walking and cycling programs. . . .

“The physical fitness benefits are obvious. What’s interesting is, if more children walked or bicycled to school, fewer cars would be nearby at pick-up and drop-off locations, making it safer for walkers and bicyclists,” said Safe Routes to School Coordinator Jeff Cremer. “Fewer vehicles also result in fewer air pollutants. Children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of poor air quality.” 

One of the most popular program activities is called the walking school bus. Groups of children walk designated routes to school under adult supervision, picking up kids along the way similar to a bus. For some neighborhoods it's a casual group walk, while others set up a formal plan with adults scheduled to walk on certain days. Families who live farther from school can drive part of the way and join the walk along the designated route.

Walk to School Month continues throughout October. It's possible to organize a great event in as few as seven days. MoBikeFed's Walk to School page gives you the information and resources you need to organized your own Walk to School event.

Increasing statewide participation in International Walk to School Day and in Safe Routes to School programs is one of the goals in MoBikeFed's Vision for Bicycling and Walking in Missouri.  In 2011, MoBikeFed worked with  legislative sponsors Senator Will Kraus of Lee's Summit and Noel Torpey of Independence to make  Walk to School Day, Week, and Month a part of Missouri's official state holiday calendar.