Safe Routes 2 School

Erickson Elementary School in Ypsilanti is a National Center for Safe Routes to School Mini-Grant Recipient! Erickson will receive up to $1,000 for local projects that encourage student creativity in SR2S activities in the spring 2010 semester. Read the full press release here. Congratulations to Erickson!

Congratulations to Ben W. Murch Elementary School in Washington, D.C., the recipient of the 2009 James L. Oberstar Award. The Oberstar Award is given annually by the National Center for Safe Routes to School to an exemplary SR2S program in the United States.

Williams Elementary School's (Flint) Walk to School Day event was featured on WNEM-TV 5.

The Safe Routes to School National Partnership has launched new Facebook and Twitter pages!

Dr. Christine Vogt (Michigan State University) and Dr. Ariel Rodríguez (Arizona State University) co-authored an article titled Demographic, Environmental, Access, and Attitude Factors That Influence Walking to School by Elementary School-Aged Children. The article is based on research from Michigan's Safe Routes to School program and appears in the June 2009 issue of the Journal of School Health. Click on the Journal link to read the abstract.

Congratulations to SR2S Action Plans Project Mini-Grant Recipients

The Michigan Fitness Foundation is pleased to announce that 30 schools will each receive mini-grants to enable and encourage their students to safely walk or bicycle to school. The grants are part of the Foundation’s Safe Routes to School Action Plans Project, part of the broader Safe Routes to School (SR2S) movement to make nonmotorized travel to and from school a safer and more appealing option for students. The grant recipients are:

Hillside Learning & Behavior Center-West (Allegan); Dailey Elementary School and Tucker Elementary School (Beecher); Hornung Elementary School (Brighton); Carrollton Elementary/Middle School (Carrollton); Carter Middle School (Clio); Maples Elementary School (Dearborn); Bennett Elementary School, Burns Elementary School, Clara W. Rutherford Academy, Glazer Elementary School, and Pulaski Elementary School (Detroit); Creekside Intermediate School and Mill Creek Middle School (Dexter); Douglas Elementary School (Douglas); Wacousta Elementary School (Eagle); Beechview Elementary School and East Middle School (Farmington Hills); Harbor Springs Middle School and Shay Elementary School (Harbor Springs); North Central Elementary School (Hermansville); Hillman Elementary School (Hillman); Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School (Muskegon Heights); Otsego Middle School and Dix Street Elementary School (Otsego); Country Elementary School (Pinckney); Loomis Math, Science & Technology Academy and Stone Elementary School (Saginaw); Saugatuck Middle School (Saugatuck); Thomas Read Elementary School (Shelby).

Good Morning America recently featured an interesting segment on how physical activity in school can increase student achievement.

An article about Ellen Grace Loftis Elementary School's (Muskegon Heights) SR2S program appeared in the April 1 issue of the Muskegon Chronicle.

Michigan's Safe Routes to School program was featured in a four-part series in Michigan Planner magazine, a publication of the Michigan Association of Planning. Read part one, part two, part three or part four.

Congratulations to Bear Creek Elementary School in Boulder, Colorado, the recipient of the 2008 James L. Oberstar Award. The Oberstar Award is given annually by the National Center for Safe Routes to School to an exemplary SR2S program in the United States. A case study on Bear Creek Elementary is also available on the National Center's website.