San Leandro Elementary School Wins 2016 Platinum Sneaker Award

SAN LEANDRO, CA: Alameda CTC and the Alameda County Safe Routes to Schools Program are pleased to announce that Corvallis Elementary School in San Leandro, part of the San Lorenzo Unified School District, is the winner of the 2016 Platinum Sneaker Contest. Corvallis students achieved the highest percentage increase in Alameda County schools for its students' walking, cycling, skating or using shared rides to get to school during this year's Alameda County Golden Sneaker Contest. On a typical day at Corvallis Elementary, 41 percent of students get to school in environmentally and health-conscious ways. During the contest, however, that number increased to 70.4 percent of students using either active or shared transportation for their daily commutes.

Corvallis Elementary will receive the Platinum Sneaker Award during a ceremony at the Alameda County Transportation Commission's March 24, 2016 meeting at 1111 Broadway, Suite 800 in Oakland at 2 p.m.

The 2016 Pollution Solution Golden Sneaker Contest was held February 22 to March 4 at 103 schools throughout Alameda County. Student trips taken with active or shared modes of transportation were tracked and at each participating school. The classroom that saw the greatest percentage of "green" trips traveled received a Golden Sneaker Trophy.

"I'm so proud of all of our Alameda County school communities. This year, the number of students getting to school in healthy and green ways significantly increased compared to past years," says Alameda CTC Chair Rebecca Kaplan, Oakland City Councilmember At-Large. "We extend a heartfelt congratulations to the students, parents and teachers at Corvallis Elementary who really 'stepped it up' for a healthier, greener and better tomorrow."
In line with the U.S. Surgeon General's "Step It Up!" campaign, which launched in September 2015, the Golden Sneaker Contest promotes walking as a fun, safe and healthy way to get to and from school. Other "green" modes of transportation, such as bicycling, skateboarding and riding transit, were counted in schools' tallies, with each school striving to increase its overall percentage of students "stepping it up."

The Golden Sneaker Contest is sponsored by Alameda County's Safe Routes to Schools Program, funded by the Alameda County Transportation Commission and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. This year, more than 70,000 students at 103 schools participated in the contest countywide. During the contest period, schools across Alameda County saw an average of 57 percent of students getting to school each day through active or shared modes of transportation.

Announcement, photo submitted by Alameda CTC