Tara Tolford, LA Safe Routes to
School State Network Organizer
504.280.6516 or louisiana@saferoutespartnership.org
Naomi King, Tulane Prevention
Research Center
504.988.7410 or nking2@tulane.edu
NEW ORLEANS—Yellow buses and parents line up outside New Orleans’ schools, dropping off kids for a long day of sitting in classes – the routine is nothing new. Picture another scenario, one where students filter into the school doors at arrival time, focused and alert after walking or biking from home.
On Oct. 5, hundreds of kids from local schools aim to create that scene as they participate in International Walk to School Day. The celebration has grown to 14 events at schools across the state this year. Locally that includes the International School of Louisiana, ARISE Academy and Medard H. Nelson Charter – details for each school’s event will be distributed to the media closer to the day. In the U.S., Walk to School Day will be celebrated at more than 3,500 schools. A total of 40 countries are planning events.
Walk to School events promote safer routes for walking and bicycling and emphasize the importance of increasing physical activity among children, pedestrian safety, traffic congestion, concern for the environment and building connections between families, schools and the broader community.
For ARISE Academy and the International School of Louisiana, these events are components of larger Safe
Routes to School programs funded through the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development. At
ARISE Academy, this event marks one of the first steps of its $295,000 award. At the International School of
Louisiana, it signals the one-year anniversary of the school’s successful Walking School Bus.
Created in 2005, the federal Safe Routes to School program allows schools and communities to retrofit roads, sidewalks, and bike paths to allow children to more safely walk and bicycle to school. Funding also supports education, promotion and enforcement campaigns. As more children are able to safely walk and bicycle to school, children and their communities benefit from reduced traffic congestion, better air quality and healthier lifestyles. Having an outlet for daily physical activity is a proven method for reducing the chances of being overweight, having diabetes or developing other chronic diseases.

Local schools that have received Safe Routes to School grants include ARISE Academy, International School of
Louisiana, E.P.Harney Academy and Esperanza Charter School.
For additional information, visit International Walk to School in the USA at www.walktoschool.org
, National
Center for Safe Routes to School at www.saferoutesinfo.org
and International Walk to School at www.iwalktoschool.org
New Orleans organizations promotingInternational Walk to School Day include Louisiana Safe Routes to School
State Network at www.planning.uno.edu/bikeped/saferoutes.html
, the KidsWalk Coalition at www.kidswalknola.org
and the Prevention Research Center at Tulane University at prc.tulane.edu
.
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