Parents, Volunteers Work Toward Safer Walk/Bike to School for Greenleaf Students

National Walk/Bike to School Day happens every October, but at Greenleaf Elementary School in Apple Valley, the program happens every Friday during the fall and spring, and just started back up on April 1.

The effort has gotten more Greenleaf students moving during the two years it's existed. It also has created a cause that parents and staff have rallied around—making the event safer for kids.

Longtime physical education teacher George Beran spearheaded the program, hoping to instill healthier lifestyles in children.

“It’s a lot easier to be sedentary than it is to be active," Beran said. The lack of exercise in kids is apparent, and as a parent myself, this is a strong worry of mine."

Beran realized when 40 to 50 percent of the school's 905 students showed up for the first national walk/bike event, there was potential to generate momentum among students, teachers, parents and even the community at large. But a parent survey after the event showed a safety concern: the lack of a traffic light on Galaxie Avenue, the road on which the school is located.

“It’s a problem when two-thirds of our student population live on the other side of a busy road,” Beran said.

Al Jaeb, another physical education teacher at Greenleaf, agreed.

“We have this wonderful playground that everyone in the community is invited to use during the summer, but that also means crossing a 45 mile-per-hour, four-lane street for a lot of kids," Jaeb said. "There’s a safety issue here.”

Beran and Jeab started calling around. Soon they organized an eight-parent committee called the Safe Routes to School (SRTS). Kate Busse, the coordinator for the committee, is responsible for finding and scheduling volunteers to be crossing guards during walk/bike days.

“I believe in the benefits of walking to school and I've experienced how difficult it can be to cross the Galaxie crosswalk," she said. "Greenleaf’s door is only 0.7 miles from our driveway. But because we live on the east side of Galaxie, busing is available.” 

Donna Gibbons, another parent involved in SRTS, also lives less than a mile from Greenleaf.

“I’m so sure if we had a crossing guard out there or a crossing light, more kids would walk or bike to school,” she said.

But even on a cold Friday, already 90 to 100 students walk or ride to school, she said. SRTS and teachers collect data and turn in their numbers to the City of Apple Valley every spring and fall to support efforts to get a traffic light installed. The city also collects data.

In the meantime, parents and the community have collaborated and set up a volunteer schedule for those interested in being a crossing guard on Fridays from 8:45 to 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 to 3:45 p.m.

Barney Friesth, a retired minister and resident of Apple Valley who became a volunteer crossing guard, was looking for a way to get involved in the community.

“My wife and I don’t have any family nearby and were looking for a way to give back," he said. "Helping out and seeing the kids’ faces bring me great joy.”

Teachers highlight the importance of exercise and try to motivate the parents as well.

“Fridays were chosen because most parents can get into work a little later," Beran said. "We want them to participate too. I want to generate as much interest as I can so the students feel a sense of ownership, and it’s also a great way to start the day—energized.”