DDOT will select eight schools to
participate in the DC Safe Routes to School Pilot School Program. Each school
will receive assistance in the development and implementation of a Safe Routes
to School Plan. The Safe Routes to School Plan will identify education,
engineering, enforcement, encouragement, and evaluation measures in order to
get more kids walking and biking to school and to make it safer for them to do
so. DDOT will also provide assistance with the implementation of each
school's Safe Routes to School Plan.
What will DDOT
Provide to Successful
Pilot School
Applicants?
DDOT, with assistance from
consultants, will provide each pilot school with the following:
Help with the development of a Safe
Routes to School Plan that covers each of the five E's (education,
engineering, enforcement, encouragement, and evaluation).
Pedestrian and bicycle safety
training in the classroom.
Increased law enforcement from the
Metropolitan Police Department within the School Zone.
Ideas about what has worked at other
schools around the United
States.
Technical assistance with the
implementation of education, enforcement, evaluation, and encouragement
programs.
Planning and possible implementation
of engineering changes to improve the safety of children walking and bicycling
to school.
Small prizes to be used as
incentives to encourage students to walk and bicycle to school.
Who Can Complete an
Application?
The SRTS application may be filled
out by anyone with a relationship to the school, for example, a teacher, a
parent, a school principal, or a school nurse.
Which Schools are
Eligible to Apply?
DDOT will select ONE school in each Ward for the Pilot
School Project, for a total of 8 schools. Public, Private, and Charter schools
are eligible to apply.
In order to be eligible for
selection, a school must meet each of the following criteria:
School grade level should include
K-8 (or a sub-set, such as K-6 or 7-8). (By law, SRTS activities must focus on
grades K-8).
Schools should be scheduled to stay
open per DC Public School's School Consolidation Plan.
School must not have policies that
prohibit or discourage walking or bicycling to school. If a school does have
such a policy, it must be willing to change the policy as part of the SRTS program.
What Is Your School Required To Do? (Program Requirements):
Schools that are selected for the
Pilot School Program will be required to do the following:
Form a Safe Routes to School Team:
The team should consist of a variety of individuals as described later in this
document. The team will meet during the duration of the Pilot School Project.
It is likely that meetings will occur once a month for several months, and then
every other month thereafter.
Provide a Team Leader: Each school
must designate a team leader. The team leader may be a teacher, administrator,
or other school employee, parent, or other individual. The team leader will be
the primary point of contact between DDOT and the school.
Schedule and Host Safe Routes to
School Team Meetings: The Team Leader will coordinate with the school and the
SRTS Team to schedule SRTS-related meetings. The school is responsible for
providing a location for SRTS meetings.
Conduct evaluation activities:
Schools must conduct before and after surveys of students and parents, using
the forms provided on the DC SRTS website www.ddot.dc.gov/saferoutes. At
a minimum, Student In-Class Travel Tallies and Parent Surveys are to be
completed and tallied in September 2008 and May 2009. Schools have the option
to send their completed Tally and Survey forms to the National Center
for Safe Routes to School; they will scan and tally the results.
Coordinate SRTS encouragement
activities: The Safe Routes to School Team will choose encouragement activities
for the school, such as a Golden Shoe Contest or Frequent Walker/Biker Cards.
Each school is responsible for working with the Safe Routes to School Team to
implement the chosen Safe Routes to School encouragement activities, with
technical assistance from DDOT.
Provide in-class time for
bicycle/pedestrian safety education in the school, ideally as part of Physical
Education, Health, Science or other classes which can tie-in SRTS to existing
curriculum.
Send home information about SRTS to
parents in backpack-mail and other methods.
Promote at least one school-wide
Walk and Bike to School event at the school, preferably Walk and Bike to School
Day on October 8, 2008.
Selection Criteria:
In order for an application to be
considered, a school must meet all of the eligibility requirements and agree to
the program requirements. Evaluation of eligible applications will be based on
responses to the questions under "Selection Criteria/Application
Questions" in the application. When answering the application questions,
be sure to answer all parts of each question. Applications will be scored on a
100 point scale. Each question is worth a specific number of points, as noted
on the Application.
Go to the Safe Routes to School website for more.
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