Lowell School Information
- Read the results of the survey of Lowell School parents regarding SRS issues.
- Check out the map showing where crossing guards and "walking school buses" are.
Safe Routes to School is a program designed to improve the safety and health of our school children by promoting walking to school. Because children develop lifelong habits at an early age, encouraging them to walk more in the elementary years can help to establish behaviors that will lead to more active lifestyles.
Program Goals
The goals of the Safe Routes to School program are:
- To get children and adults more physically active by walking to and from school
- To make it safer for children and adults to walk in the neighborhood
- To educate children on pedestrian safety
- To reduce traffic in our neighborhood and around the school
- To prevent crime by getting more people outside keeping an eye on the neighborhood
- To help neighbors get to know one another
- To improve the environment by reducing the number of trips in cars.
Walking Wednesdays is the first phase of the Safe Routes to School program -- a new community initiative that makes walking to and from school a safe, active, and fun part of the child's day. The program encourages children to walk in groups accompanied by adults, and relies on community efforts to bring the neighborhood change that makes walking an enjoyable part of everyone's lives. Walking Wednesdays kickoff at the Lowell School on Wednesday, March 21st. Watertown Citizens for Environmental Safety has donated pedometers to give to children at the Lowell School who walk to school all 13 Wednesdays between March 21st and the last day of school.
Safety Training
An essential part of the program is preparing children to be safety smart when walking. It is especially important that they understand traffic dangers and basic rules of the road. A grant request to fund this portion of the program has been submitted to the Watertown Community Foundation. If awarded, the funds will be used to provide safety training to 2nd and 3rd graders, initially at the Lowell School and then at the other elementary schools.
WalkBoston trainers will provide a training session for volunteers. The volunteers then train the students by taking them out of school to practice crossing safely on local streets. We expect to recruit 12 volunteers.
While this program will be first presented at the Lowell School, we anticipate recruiting parents and volunteers from the Hosmer and Cunniff Schools to attend the safety training. They will then be able to provide the safety training at the other schools. We anticipate offering the safety training in May of 2007 at all schools. The recipients of the safety training will be the 379 2nd and 3rd graders at the Watertown elementary schools.
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Safe Routes to School in Watertown is sponsored by:
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Hosmer School Information
- Check out the map showing where crossing guards and "walking school buses" are.