Getting Students Active through Safe Routes to School: Policies and Action Steps for Education Policymakers and Professionals
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Education policymakers and professionals are critical partners for Safe Routes to School. But, they can sometimes be reluctant to get involved in Safe Routes to School due to pressures on budgets and staff, plus a desire to remain focused on student academic achievement.
To help overcome this barrier, the Safe Routes Partnership has issued a new resource guide, Getting Students Active through Safe Routes to School: Policies and Action Steps for Education Policymakers and Professionals.
The guide provides a detailed examination of the most up-to-date and relevant research linking physical activity and academic achievement, and presents Safe Routes to School as a means of increasing students’ physical activity levels.
It also includes policies and action steps that can be implemented at the state, school district and individual school level in several key areas specific to the education sector. Stories from states and communities across the nation provide real-life examples of how Safe Routes to School programs and policies can be adopted and implemented. Key topic areas include:
- Building effective partnerships
- Addressing traffic safety through infrastructure and enforcement
- Incorporating Safe Routes to School into school wellness policies
- Ensuring school transportation policies are inclusive of walking and bicycling
- Creating neighborhood schools and shared use policies
Given the guide’s specific focus on issues of concern and relevance to the education sector, the Safe Routes Partnership hopes that it helps equip more education policymakers and professionals-at state, school district and individual school levels-with the knowledge and tools necessary to implement and sustain successful Safe Routes to School programs and supportive policies. The guide can also be a good tool for SRTS volunteers and professionals looking for ways to engage their local school leaders.
The Partnership is grateful to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Public Health Association for their support of this publication.
It can be downloaded at http://www.saferoutespartnership.org/media/file/EducatorsGuide.pdf.