- Massachusetts Department of Transportation
Media Contact
Jacquelyn Goddard, Director of Communications, MassDOT
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), through its Massachusetts Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Program, held its annual awards ceremony today to recognize the Program's partner schools, community champions, stakeholders, and Crossing Guards who have made significant contributions within their communities by strengthening, promoting, and improving safety for students walking, biking and rolling to and from school.
First launched at the start of the 2005-2006 school year, with a network of school partners that has since grown steadily, this year SRTS is celebrating 20 school years of making a difference for Massachusetts students who walk, bike and roll to school. At the Awards Ceremony, Waltham Public Schools was recognized as being the first community in Massachusetts to officially sign on schools as partners.
“As we celebrate 20 years of Safe Routes to School, we extend our deepest thanks to the school communities that have partnered with us to create safer, healthier ways for students to walk, bike, and roll to school,” said Transportation Secretary and CEO Monica Tibbits-Nutt. “We congratulate this year’s honorees and, as always, applaud the dedication of all our school partners. Here’s to the next 20 years of advancing student safety, wellness, and access”
Over the past 20 years, the program has:
- Worked with over 1,200 partner schools
- Expanded partner eligibility to schools with grades 9-12 (due to new federal funding opportunity)
- Provided funding for 100+ Infrastructure and Signs & Lines projects
- Incorporated DESE-approved Professional Development training sessions for teachers and staff to earn credit hours
- Conducted thousands of bike and pedestrian safety training sessions across the Commonwealth
The Safe Routes to School awards are open to all school and alliance partners. This year's Awards Ceremony honored 218 schools across Massachusetts that completed SRTS activities and events qualifying them for partner level awards of Basic, Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Awards for Exemplary Program were presented to four schools (with three Honorable Mentions). The Community Collaboration and Nikki Tishler Memorial awards were also presented.
For the fifth year, the program recognized the important role Crossing Guards have in supporting families’ safety as they access schools and neighborhoods across the Commonwealth. Over 450 Crossing Guard nominations were submitted for consideration from 43 statewide communities.
The following school and community partners, Crossing Guards, and individual stakeholders were recognized at this year's awards ceremony:
Exemplary Programs by Region:
Greenfield Middle School, Greenfield (Western Winner)
Margaret Neary Elementary School, Southborough (Central Winner)
Warren Community Elementary School, Warren (Central Honorable Mention)
Chelsea High School, Chelsea (Northeast Winner)
Gilmore Elementary School, Brockton (Southeast Winner)
Community Collaboration:
Melrose Pedestrian and Bicyclist Committee
Worcester Safe Routes to School Task Force (Honorable Mention)
Crossing Guard of the Year:
Gina Hayes, Malden (Winner)
Bridget and Gerry Buckley, Boston (Honorable Mention)
Jill Boyd, Braintree (Crossing Guard Champion)
Soleil Hanger, Pittsfield (Crossing Guard Champion)
Lie-Mei Ho, Newton (Crossing Guard Champion)
Nikki Tishler Memorial Award:
Jennifer Hessel-Smith, Nathaniel Morton Elementary School, Plymouth
A full list of all of this year’s award recipients can be found in the SRTS Awards Ceremony Program.
The Massachusetts SRTS Program, sponsored by MassDOT and with funds from the Federal Highway Administration, promotes safer routes for students to walk, bike, and roll to and from school by fostering partnerships between community-led organizations, local law enforcement, education leaders, and public health departments.
Among other things, the program offers pedestrian and bicycle training activities, walk and bike assessments, and arrival/dismissal observations at schools. The program also hosts annual flagship events such as Massachusetts Walk, Bike, & Roll to School Day in May.
The program currently serves more than 1,200 schools in more than 280 communities across the Commonwealth. Through these partnerships, the Massachusetts SRTS Program highlights the importance of pedestrian and bicycle safety. SRTS also provides information, materials, and resources to support schools and communities with their local SRTS initiatives.
For more information on Massachusetts Safe Routes to School visit:
www.mass.gov/safe-routes-to-school
www.facebook.com/SafeRoutes.MA
www.linkedin.com/company/ma-safe-routes-to-school
For more MassDOT news and updates visit:
www.mass.gov/blog/transportation
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