By Jennifer Nitson
Gazette-Times reporter | Posted: Tuesday, October 2, 2007 12:00 am
Corvallis and Philomath schools will participate in the 11th annual International Walk to School Day on Wednesday.
"We all used to walk to school," said Brenda VanDevelder, the parent of a Jefferson Elementary School student and the coordinator for that school's Walk to School Day events. "Kids today are riding in the back of a mini-van and don't have the opportunity to walk or ride to school."
Students from more than 5,000 schools in the United States will join nearly four million people from 42 countries around the world in observing and celebrating the benefits of walking to school.
In addition to reducing vehicle traffic and pollution, incorporating the daily physical activity of walking or riding bikes to and from school into the lives of students helps them stay fit.
"I also think it's a great way to promote parents and kids connecting," said Dana Galle-Strowbridge, the Corvallis School District tobacco prevention coordinator. Galle-Strowbridge has been getting the word out about Walk to School Day as part of an effort to increase the health and well-being of students.
An increase in the numbers of students walking to and from school Wednesday will also serve to remind drivers when they are in school zones, Galle-Strowbridge said.
"We do want people to pay attention and honor that school zone area," she said.
At Hoover Elementary School, children who ride the school bus will be able to take part in the celebration because the busses will drop them off at the Northwest Hills Baptist Church about a quarter of a mile away from the school on Walnut. Adults will be on hand to walk the children from the church to Hoover.
At Franklin School the event is being spearheaded by the fifth-grade class, who have made posters and announcements to their fellow students about Walk to School Day.
Corvallis firefighters will share general pedestrian and bicycle safety information with students at Jefferson Elementary; and in Philomath firefighters and police officers will hit the sidewalks to help students get to school safely.
Various schools are upping the ante by holding raffles and offering prizes for students who walk to school on Wednesday, but Philomath School District nurse and Walk to School Day event coordinator Cindy Ertle hopes that children will enjoy the health benefits of walking to school throughout the school year.
'The kids that walk to school come to school healthier. They are more ready to think," Ertle said. "We just really hope that any kid who can safely do so can be out walking and biking to school every day, not just on Walk to School Day."