A Walking School Bus at Oaklawn Elementary!

We have had a little taste of spring this week.  It’s amazing how warm 45 degrees can feel after a long, harsh Wisconsin winter!  Along with the warming temperatures, come more activities!  We are very excited for the Walking School Bus kick off at Oaklawn Elementary School in Oshkosh this Thursday, March 13th, 2014!  The Walking School Bus Program is part of the Safe Routes to School initiative in Winnebago County.  It consists of a “bus driver” walking a route to pick up participating students.  The group walks from house to house, filling the walking bus then heads to school.  Parent driver volunteers have been a very important aspect of this program.  Last year, a group of University of Wisconsin Oshkosh nursing students piloted a Walking School Bus Program at Traeger Elementary School in Oshkosh.  Although it started out slow, more and more students began to participate.  With the help of Walking School Bus coordinator Sarah Wright from the Winnebago County Health Department/re:TH!NK and many parent volunteers, the program is now flourishing with nearly 50 students walking on 4 different routes!

Another group of UWO nursing students in conjunction with the East Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission will be heading up this week’s kick off at Oaklawn!  There are currently 5 designated routes with two of those being remote drop off routes which allows for students who live further away to still participate in the program.  Upon arriving at the school, the participating students will have the opportunity to receive recognition and participate in morning kick off activities!  We look forward to more updates about the program at Oaklawn as the spring progresses and we thank all those who have made the program possible this far!  Happy spring!