Safe Routes To School - Education

SRTS offers the tools students need to be smart, safe pedestrians and bicyclists through a combination of training sessions, school assemblies, workshops, videos, and printed materials. We also have resources available for parents/guardians, educators, and community stakeholders that include webinars, lesson plans, videos, and other materials for download.

Table of Contents

Children learning about traffic rules

Webinars

 

SRTS 2023 Webinar for Municipalities: Grant Writing 101 – January 25, 2023



POP-UP Projects for Safe Routes to School

Pop-Up Projects for Safe Routes To School Cover Design

 

This guide explores how schools can use pop-up demonstration projects to improve safety on and around campus.  These temporary activations, often referred to as tactical urbanism can be used to promote walking and biking to, from, and around campus. You will find examples of local, national, and international projects, tips to support implementation efforts, and links to additional resources.

 

Pop-up Projects for Safe Routes to School


DESE-accredited Health & Wellness Professional Development

 

DESE-accredited Health & Wellness Professional Development – MassDOT’s Safe Routes to School Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Curriculum

According to the Centers for Disease Control, walking and biking are life skills that also support student independence, resiliency, and recommended daily physical activity. From a student’s perspective, navigating the built environment when arriving and departing school offers different physical and cognitive challenges than for adults. Educating our student commuters of all abilities and ages on how to be a safe walker and biker bolsters school attendance, physical activity, and social interaction while decreasing family traffic.

MassDOT’s Safe Routes to School offers a 10-hour DESE-accredited Health & Wellness Professional Development program on its Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Curriculum that includes in-person and self-paced learning modules. It may be taken in its entirety or parts thereof. It is geared towards Health & Wellness Teachers, Teacher leaders, School Administrators (Principals, Assistant Principals, Curriculum Directors, etc.), Nurses, Coaches, Paraprofessionals, and Advocates/Community Partners. Adoption of our DESE-approved Health & Wellness curriculum allows for a more equitable and sustainable lesson model across a school district.

To schedule professional development for your school/school district, please contact your Outreach Coordinator.

Download a copy of our one-page Professional Development document.


Bike Safety Education

Children learning about bicycle safety

Bike Safety Education Videos

Bike Safety Education

Bicycling-Themed Lesson Plans

 


Bike Rodeos

  

Students on bicycles

A bike rodeo is an interactive way to teach students the rules of the road while practicing safe bicycling skills. The rodeo format incorporates stations along a loop course that simulates a neighborhood environment. A representative from Safe Routes to School can assist your school in planning and running a bike rodeo event. We will also deliver a bike rodeo kit with all the necessary tools to help you run a successful event.

Pedestrian Safety Education

Children safely cross the street.

SRTS provides pedestrian safety lessons for students in grades K-12, but is primarily focused on second-grade students. Cognitively, students at the second-grade level are ready to learn about the principles of being a safe pedestrian and therefore SRTS encourages schools to incorporate this training as enrichment or as part of curriculum. Schools can deliver the curriculum themselves with the resources below or can schedule a SRTS Outreach Coordinator to provide the training:

Pedestrian Safety Education

 

Pedestrian-Themed Lesson Plans

Additional Resources for Pedestrians

 


Driver Education

 

Being a “Bike-Friendly” Driver

Railroad Crossing Safety

Student Safety During Arrival and Dismissal

Navigating School Zone Driving


Crossing Guards

Crossing guards play an important role in helping students travel safely as they approach the school. SRTS has some helpful resources to support the crossing guard(s) at your school.


Kids Speaking Up for Road Safety

Kids Speaking Up for Road Safety is a free program with ready-to-use, 45- to 60-minute lesson plans for grades 2 to 3, 4 to 5, and 6. Through a cute cartoon meerkat named Sam, the lessons help students become part of the solution to end distracted driving – long before they are drivers themselves.

EndDD.org and Safe Roads Alliance developed these lesson plans and collaborated with psychologists, SEL experts, content developers, videographers, and animators experienced in creating educational programs. Lesson content and activities draw on the core SEL competencies framework developed by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning.

Through guided discussion and activities, students explore different types of distractions that occur outside and inside the car. Students learn about distraction and non-confrontational communication skills. Ancillary resources include a facilitator’s guide with an advisory letter home to parents/guardians, student worksheets, cross-curricular activities appropriate for grade level, safe driving pledges, and a printable reference guide for students. These tools aim to help students positively influence their parents’ and caregivers’ driving behaviors and increase the likelihood that they will choose to drive distraction-free when they get behind the wheel.


Other Resources

Contact for Safe Routes To School - Education

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