Elementary schools across the Shawnee Mission School District participated in National Walk and Roll to School Day encouraging students and families to walk, bike, and roll to school.
This event is also part of the Kansas Department of Transportation’s Safe Routes To School initiative that “works with schools and families, offering education and encouragement programs, and advocating for policies that support safe and active transportation.”
Rosehill Elementary, one of the many SMSD communities that held a Walk and Roll to School Day event this year, is also partnered with BikeWalk KC and their Bike Lessons And Safety Training (BLAST) program to support kids who are just learning to ride a bike and teach bike and pedestrian safety.
“We’re super excited to have the BLAST program out at Rosehill,” shared Rosehill P.E. teacher Tyler Beerends. “Just to bring that opportunity to our students and help them experience something that’s more in the community and something they can utilize when they’re off of school grounds and to just be able to build up that confidence to ride a bike and then their ability to understand road safety.”
BikeWalk KC is a local non-profit dedicated to “redefining our streets as places for people to build a culture of active living.” The organization is multi-faceted with teams dedicated to community outreach, advocacy, policy, education and even facilitating the bikeshare program across the Kansas City Metro.
The BLAST program falls under the education team within BikeWalkKC and includes a mobile fleet of bikes and helmets that instructors bring to elementary schools so students can learn, practice, and enjoy riding a bike right at their school during P.E. class.
“At Rosehill, and a lot of the other Shawnee Mission schools, there’s a lot of apartments and not everyone has a bus, so a lot of kids bike to school [or] walk to school,” explained Beerends. “So bringing a piece of knowledge to the students to allow them to do that safely and understand how to get to school safely was kind of the biggest piece for me.”
Nolan Oehrke, Director of Education with BikeWalkKC says that while safety is one of the key components in their programming, the BLAST program is also about equity and overall wellbeing.
“This is a life skill that I think everybody should know so it’s about giving [kids] that opportunity, but then it’s also getting kids to think about biking and walking as a legit form of transportation,” said Oehrke. “There’s a lot of studies that prove that kids get more physical activity, especially in the morning. It’s not only good for the environment but it’s also good for their brains, it gets them up, focused, and excited to go to school.”
If you’d like to learn more about the BLAST program or bike and pedestrian safety for school-aged kids, listen to the latest episode of Shawnee Mission Mic’d Up wherever you get your podcasts or watch on youtube:
Shawnee Mission School District is the third largest school district in Kansas. The district serves students in Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade in 34 elementary schools, five middle schools, five high schools, and several educational centers. It has been consistently ranked among the finest school districts nationwide for its high student performance. The district’s objective is that each student will have a personalized learning plan that will prepare them for college and careers, with the interpersonal skills they need for life success. The district serves a diverse student population from 14 cities within northeast Johnson County, Kansas, which is 10 miles from downtown Kansas City, Missouri. For more information, visit www.smsd.org.
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