SR2S In the News

New Resource Available!

Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance (MTGA) and Michigan State University have teamed up to map the proximity of Michigan’s elementary and middle schools to the state's trails. If a trail is aligned between the school and the neighborhood where a student lives, a trail may only need a short connector in order to become a prime “safe route to school.”

Click here to view a sample map and visit the MTGA website for maps of all 83 Michigan counties.

Thanks to MTGA and MSU for this great resource!

  • Erickson Elementary School in Ypsilanti is a National Center for Safe Routes to School Mini-Grant Recipient! Erickson will receive up to $1,000 for local projects that encourage student creativity in SR2S activities in the spring 2010 semester. Read the full press release here. Congratulations to Erickson!
     

  • Congratulations to Ben W. Murch Elementary School in Washington, D.C., the recipient of the 2009 James L. Oberstar Award. The Oberstar Award is given annually by the National Center for Safe Routes to School to an exemplary SR2S program in the United States.
     

  • Williams Elementary School's (Flint) Walk to School Day event was featured on WNEM-TV 5.
     

  • The Safe Routes to School National Partnership has launched new Facebook and Twitter pages!
     

  • Dr. Christine Vogt (Michigan State University) and Dr. Ariel Rodríguez (Arizona State University) co-authored an article titled Demographic, Environmental, Access, and Attitude Factors That Influence Walking to School by Elementary School-Aged Children. The article is based on research from Michigan's Safe Routes to School program and appears in the June 2009 issue of the Journal of School Health. Click on the Journal link to read the abstract.

Congratulations to SR2S Action Plans Project Mini-Grant Recipients

The Michigan Fitness Foundation is pleased to announce that 30 schools will each receive mini-grants to enable and encourage their students to safely walk or bicycle to school. The grants are part of the Foundation’s Safe Routes to School Action Plans Project, part of the broader Safe Routes to School (SR2S) movement to make nonmotorized travel to and from school a safer and more appealing option for students.
The grant recipients are:

Hillside Learning & Behavior Center-West (Allegan); Dailey Elementary School and Tucker Elementary School (Beecher); Hornung Elementary School (Brighton); Carrollton Elementary/Middle School (Carrollton); Carter Middle School (Clio); Maples Elementary School (Dearborn); Bennett Elementary School, Burns Elementary School, Clara W. Rutherford Academy, Glazer Elementary School, and Pulaski Elementary School (Detroit); Creekside Intermediate School and Mill Creek Middle School (Dexter); Douglas Elementary School (Douglas); Wacousta Elementary School (Eagle); Beechview Elementary School and East Middle School (Farmington Hills); Harbor Springs Middle School and Shay Elementary School (Harbor Springs); North Central Elementary School (Hermansville); Hillman Elementary School (Hillman); Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School (Muskegon Heights); Otsego Middle School and Dix Street Elementary School (Otsego); Country Elementary School (Pinckney); Loomis Math, Science & Technology Academy and Stone Elementary School (Saginaw); Saugatuck Middle School (Saugatuck); Thomas Read Elementary School (Shelby).

  • Good Morning America recently featured an interesting segment on how physical activity in school can increase student achievement.
     

  • An article about Ellen Grace Loftis Elementary School's (Muskegon Heights) SR2S program appeared in the April 1 issue of the Muskegon Chronicle.
     

  • Michigan's Safe Routes to School program was featured in a four-part series in Michigan Planner magazine, a publication of the Michigan Association of Planning. Read part one, part two, part three or part four.
     

  • Congratulations to Bear Creek Elementary School in Boulder, Colorado, the recipient of the 2008 James L. Oberstar Award. The Oberstar Award is given annually by the National Center for Safe Routes to School to an exemplary SR2S program in the United States. A case study on Bear Creek Elementary is also available on the National Center's website.

Congratulations to the fall 2008 Safe Routes to School funding award recipients! Read about all 41 award recipients here.

Individual schools receiving much deserved kudos for their hard work include:
  • The Muskegon Chronicle reported on Ellen Grace Loftis Elementary School's (Muskegon Heights) Safe Routes to School funding award. Congratulations to Loftis!
     
  • Williams Elementary School (Flint) and Grand Blanc East Middle School (Grand Blanc) were recently featured in stories that ran on WEYI Channel 25 and WJRT Channel 12. Congratulations to Williams and Grand Blanc East!
     
  • The Safe Routes to School program at Herig Elementary School (Saginaw) was showcased in a story that ran in the Saginaw News. Congratulations to Herig!
    • Webster Elementary School and Franklin Elementary School (Escanaba) received some well-deserved coverage of their Walk to School Day events in The Daily Press.
       

    • Winans Elementary School (Lansing Waverly Schools) was one of 11 schools that participated in the Safe Routes to School pilot project from 2003-2005. In January 2008, the Winans SR2S team received a Safe Routes to School funding award. The success stories continue: Winans' Walk to School Day event was featured in a recent Lansing State Journal article.
       

    • Allendale Elementary School (Melvindale) held a great Walk to School Day event on October 3 that was featured in a story that ran in the News Herald. Others schools mentioned in the article include Chapman Elementary School (Rockwood) and Anderson Elementary School (Trenton).
       

    • George Long Elementary School's (Grass Lake) Walk to School Day event was showcased in a story that ran in the Jackson Citizen-Patriot. George Long Elementary school was among the schools that received a Safe Routes to School funding award in January 2008.
       

    • The Walk to School Day events at Douglas Elementary School and Saugatuck Middle School (Saugatuck Public Schools) were highlighted in a story in the Allegan County News. A follow-up story appeared in the Grand Rapids Press.
       

    • An interesting article about the impact of rising fuel costs on pupil transportation recently appeared in Newsweek. Read "Waving Goodbye to the Bus" here.
       

    • NBC News recently featured a story on a successful walking school bus program in New Jersey.
       

    • Michigan's Safe Routes to School program was featured in the May 2006 issue of Parks & Recreation magazine. Read the article here.
       

    • Michigan's Safe Routes to School program was featured in the February 2006 issue of Planning & Zoning News. Read the article here.
       

    • Mike Eberlein, former Safe Routes to School Coordinator for the Michigan Department of Transportation, discusses federal funding for Safe Routes to School in the February 2006 issue of Planning & Zoning News. Read the article here.


    Safe Routes to School Newsletters
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