WALK AND BIKE TO SCHOOL DAY

Walk and Bike to School Day is an international celebration that encourages students to walk or bike to school while teaching them about the health, environmental and transportation benefits of walking and biking. Held annually on the first Wednesday in October, Walk and Bike to School Day also helps to raise community awareness about the importance of pedestrian and bicycle safety education, safe routes to schools, well-maintained walkways, and traffic calming in our neighborhoods and around our schools.

Visit the national Walk and Bike to School Day website, check out all the great resources on Virginia’s SRTS site, and use WalkArlington’s Walk and Bike to School Day Toolkit to prepare and promote your event!

2018 Walk & Bike to School Day Participation Breaks Virginia Record

Arlington Public Schools celebrated Walk and Bike to School Day 2018 on Wednesday, October 10. All 37 schools and programs took part, contributing to a record-breaking 364 events across Virginia, second only to California. CLAREMONT COLLAGE FINAL

This year, Spanish-language immersion school Claremont Elementary was selected as APS’ Walk and Bike to School Day “focus school.” Home to 750+ students, most of whom do not live within walking distance of school, Claremont showed that walking and biking isn’t just for those in the neighborhood.

Starting around 7:20 am, students and families began arriving on foot, bike, scooter, carpool and school bus. Some who drove parked nearby and walked the rest of the way with parents and younger siblings, some in strollers. They checked in and got stickers then proceeded to the back of school for a bilingual, multimodal celebration.

Once there, students were welcomed with music from a teacher doubling as a DJ and numerous activities put together by Claremont’s Health/Physical Education teachers, who had set up bike obstacle courses, mapped out grade-level walking routes, and organized a demonstration featuring contraptions including giant tricycles, cargo bikes, electric bikes, and the rotating elementary PE bike fleet.

To cap off the morning, Claremont Principal Ms. Panfil and Assistant Principal Ms. Gonzales donned helmets and hopped on the giant trikes for a three-wheeled race/bike safety demo! By the time students headed into class, they had celebrated Walk and Bike to School Day 2018 on two wheels and two feet, in English and Spanish. Vamonos!

1000s of APS Students Participate in Walk & Bike to School Day 2017

On Wednesday, October 4, students across Arlington County and around the globe participated in Walk and Bike to School Day 2017.

After arriving at school on foot, by bike, and by bus, students at Hoffman-Boston Elementary followed a customized campus walking route to the huge field behind school. Once there, all 500+ pre-school through 5th grade students picked up passports and proceeded to five stations – arranged in the five points of a star – where they took part in energizing activities on walking and biking.

When it was time for the stations to close, Hoffman-Boston students, staff, and families capped off the morning’s festivities by assembling inside that same five-point star for an aerial photograph, taken by a firefighter from high atop an Arlington County Fire Department tower truck. Click here for more on the active transportation celebration at Hoffman-Boston!

All Arlington Public Schools took part in Walk and Bike to School Day 2017 – APS’ 16th year of participation — with support from APS’ grant-funded Safe Routes to School program and Arlington County’s WalkArlington, BikeArlington, and Arlington Transportation Partners. To get a sense of the momentum that is building at schools everywhere, check out the more than 5,000 events registered in Virginia and around the United States last year alone!

BIKE AND WALK TO SCHOOL DAY

Bike and Walk to School Day is an annual celebration that encourages students to bike or walk to school while teaching them about the health and environmental benefits of active transportation. Held annually on the second Wednesday in May, Bike and Walk to School Day also helps to raise community awareness about the importance of pedestrian and bicycle safety education, safe routes to schools, well-maintained walkways, and traffic calming in our neighborhoods and around our schools.

APS has taken part in the event since its inception in 2012, with all schools participating in some way each year.

Bike and Walk to School Day 2018

Bike and Walk to School Day 2018 took place on Wednesday, May 9. On a perfect spring morning, thousands of students from all 30+ Arlington Public Schools (APS) biked and walked to school, along with family members, teachers, APS staff and community partners.

Each school celebrated Bike and Walk to School Day in its own way, from organizing bike trains to handing out safety items to holding school-wide assemblies. Some APS staff biked too!

Many APS students already bike and walk every day, so schools used the occasion to recognize those year-round efforts while encouraging more students to give walking and biking a try.

By encouraging a nationwide bike-focused celebration for students every year in the month of May, Bike and Walk to School Day builds on the popularity and success of Walk and Bike to School Day, which is celebrated across the country – and around the world – each October.

Bike and Walk to School events work to create safer routes for bicycling and walking, and emphasize the importance of a range of impacts such as physical activity among children, cyclist and pedestrian safety, traffic congestion, concern for the environment and connections between families, schools and the community.

Bike and Walk to School Day 2019 is scheduled for Wednesday, May 8. Visit Virginia Safe Routes to School’s resources on Bike and Walk to School Day and check out BikeArlington‘s Bike and Walk to School Day Toolkit to prepare and promote your 2019 event!