It’s this type of community that makes Crozet a nice place to live.
Dear Members of the Crozet Community,
We wanted to let you know that on Friday, March 31, children at Crozet Elementary School will be walking to school. This event is designed to help kids learn that fitness can be fun and practical. Students have been learning about pedestrian safety and are eager to practice their new skills.Â
Supported by the Alliance for Community Choice in Transportation [ACCT] and their Safe Routes to School initiative, this event encourages all families who can walk to school to do so. Children who must ride the bus will have the opportunity to take a walk around the outside of the school before entering the building for the day. Parents who drive their children by car are invited to park at Crozet Baptist Church on St. George Avenue and walk to school from there under the supervision of school staff. A second supervised “Walking School Bus” will walk from the Brookwood neighborhood.
Members of the community are advised to be on the lookout for children walking in the neighborhoods and to be extra careful driving between 7-8am.
If you have questions, please contact the following:
Karen Marcus, Principal
823-4800Linda Kobert
ACCT Safe Routes to School Coordinator
295-6554Alliance for Community Choice in Transportation
Safe Routes to School
PO Box 1582
(609 East Market Street, Suite 106)
Charlottesville, VAÂ 22902
tel/fax: 434.295.6554
www.transportationchoice.org
So how did this one “walk to school day” turn out? We moved to Crozet when my son was in the fourth grade; now, a teenager, he would like to walk to and from WAHS from time to time but has actually been advised by the school that he should not! Isn’t that a sad commentary on our lazy society? Almost all students walked to school when I was in elementary school and no one panicked over safety. Many walked in groups and student “safety patrols” monitored and stopped traffic to assist with street crossing. Yes, some of us live further from school now. But do you remember when we used to behave normally, when parents encouraged growth and independence for kids without over- coddling them? Most of us turned out well-adjusted as a result and are just fine.
The first Walk to School Day at Crozet Elementary was a tremendous success- we had hundereds of people walking. It was great to see that every school kid who walked arrived with a parents, siblings, dogs, friends, and neighbors, so the total effect was really tremendous! There is a great pic on Crozet Elem. school’s website: http://schoolcenter.k12albemarle.org/education/school/school.php?sectionid=17
To build on this movement, we are hosting a workshop at Crozet Elementary School tomorrow (Sat, April 29th) from 9am-2pm. This Safe Routes to School Workshop will be a gathering of parents, school officials, planners, and neighbors, all of whom are interested in addressing issues of walkability and bicycle access around schools. The event is free and open to the public, and lunch and childcare will be provided. Please join us! Call ACCT at 295-6554 for more info.
Alia – Thanks for commenting and visiting.
–Jim