Locals Ready to Skip the Bus and Walk to School

Even though the students won’t be in a big yellow bus, it’ll definitely be hard not to spot the way most Hampton elementary schoolers will get to class Wednesday.

More than 100 students from and elementary schools and at least 30 staff and community members plan to walk to school Wednesday morning as part of the International Walk to School Day.

The event, which promotes healthy living initiatives and raises awareness in conjunction with the Safe Routes to School program, begins at 8 a.m. Wednesday.

Parents and students are asked to be at no later than 8 a.m., as the Centre and Marston groups will leave at exactly 8:10 a.m. to head in the direction of their respective buildings.

Students can also join the walking school bus along the way if they wish, and Marston Assistant Principal Dan Mitchell said he expected many to participate in this way, especially since the weather should be much drier than the last few days.

“Walk to School Day is just a really fun activity for students and parents,” said Mitchell. “Maybe we can get a lot of them to come to school in a different mode than normally would, and in that kind of focus more on the healthy choices and the activity part of it.”

Hampton has held at least one or two Walk to School days every year for more than 12 years, according to Mitchell.

The event also ties in with the state’s Safe Routes to School initiative, which is focused on raising awareness about the "walkability" of New Hampshire communities as well as improving its sidewalks and other infrastructure.

Mitchell said they did a survey last spring and found there are issues in the community that could be addressed to make the routes to school safer, although he said “nothing really stood out” and the focus at this point is to just “raise awareness” and rally locals behind the cause.

Mitchell, who is spearheading this year’s event along with Laurie Sullivan, Marston’s physical education teacher, said he also hopes the awareness will help expand the event to help “fill in the gaps” between the fall and spring Walk to School days.

“We want to do them at least once a month while weather permits,” said Mitchell, who added that he hopes to do one in November in addition to the one on Wednesday and the one scheduled for the spring.

More information about Walk to School Day can be found here, while more information about Safe Routes to School can be found here.