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Students Walk and Bike to School on International Walk to School Day
On October 7th, students from across the district participated in International Walk to School day.
There are plenty of great reasons to walk to school - less traffic, safer streets, cleaner air - but one of the best is the health of students and their parents.
Obesity rates among children have more than doubled in the past twenty years, according to the National Longitudinal Study of Youth. According to BMI data from Arkansas public schools, 38% of students are overweight or at risk for being overweight.
In spite of common knowledge that exercise is good for you, according to The Centers for Disease Control more than 60 percent of the adult population of the United States is not regularly active, and 25 percent is not active at all. School-based interventions for youth have the potential to reverse these trends.
Walking or biking to school is a great way to get activity at no extra cost to the child or family. Not only is it better for the environment, but it helps to build a feeling of community and encourages more and more people to get out and walk themselves.
Is your walk to school pleasant? Here is a Walkability Checklist, a way to see just how walkable your community is. Included is a list of suggestions for making changes to improve walkability.
The City of Fayetteville has been actively taking steps to improve the walkability of our community, including the creation of a citywide trails and greenway network. Follow this link and find a map of the Master Trail Plan, in addition to informational videos on bike safety and trail etiquette.
As we move forward in developing ideas for our schools, we welcome the thoughts, suggestions, ideas, and critiques from everyone in the community. You can share your thoughts easily through our community blog.