Walking School Bus Off and, Well...Walking

The Walking School Bus initiative was launched Tuesday morning by a cadre of parents and students from Tatem elementary school. The parent-led initiative encourages students to walk to school in a group supervised by parents.

Organizer Heather Vaughn said the goal is to relieve traffic around the Glover Street school, have the children more alert after a brisk morning walk to school, and help to help protect the environment.

"It's a win-win" said Vaughn, a parent at the school. "We live in a walking community, but people are afraid to let their kids walk because there's too much traffic. It also helps increase a sense of community because it forces you to talk to your neighbor to coordinate this."

Vaughn said there were about 40 children in two Walking School Bus groups Tuesday morning. One group left from the corner of Wood and Wayne, near the Lutheran Church. A second group departed from Belmont and Roberts. Both walks took about 15 minutes to complete and started at 8 a.m., 25 minutes before the start of class.

Vaughn said there are no current plans for the groups to walk home after school. But she's encouraged the initiative will grow at Tatem and catch on at the borough's three other elementary schools and the middle school. 

"This initiative was started by a group of parents who have been working with former principal, Gino Priolo, on improving the safety and overall traffic conditions around Tatem," a statement from Vaughn said. "With Tatem’s enrollment tipping just over 500 students this year, this parent-led ‘Traffic Team’ thought it was imperative to launch a walking campaign that will teach pedestrian safety to parents and students, while encouraging walking through programs such as the Walking School Bus."