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Port Angeles Schools Implement Bike and Pedestrian Safety Grant
May 03, 2012
Port Angeles, Wash. – Through a collaborative effort between the Washington State Department of Transportation and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Port Angeles School District was awarded a Safe Routes to School Bike and Pedestrian Safety Education Program Grant for $22,815 to provide bicycle and pedestrian safety education to students in the fifth through eighth grades.
Besides allowing for the purchase of bicycles, trailer, helmets and additional safety equipment, the grant funded professional development for the District's kindergarten through eighth grade physical education teachers - they spent two days with trainers from the Bicycle Alliance of Washington honing their skills. The safety program includes training, curriculum, educational materials, evaluation and instructional support.
The grant gives instructors the opportunity to increase students’ bicycling awareness in several areas: transportation choices, road skills and knowledge, safety issues, health benefits, and basic bike mechanic and traffic laws.
Stevens Middle School physical education instructors, Staci Poythress and Randy Steinman, started up the program at Stevens Middle School last week. Mid-May the program will move to Dry Creek Elementary, then rotate to Franklin and Roosevelt Elementary Schools before starting back up in fall 2012.
For more information, contact:
Tina Smith-O’Hara
Community Relations Specialist
Port Angeles School District
360.565.5703
tsmithohara@portangelesschools.org