Document your walk to school with #WalkNP on social media, especially Instagram or Twitter
Document your walk to school with #WalkNP on social media. Then, when grant application windows open, we will have the evidence to win
Help us document these 2018 SRTS events
Take pictures of you and your family walking or rolling to school. Next, post to your favorite social media, especially Instagram or Twitter. Set the “privacy” of these photos to public and include the hashtag #WalkNP. Posts to Instagram and Twitter will show up in an internet search. If you post on Facebook then tag #WalkNP and @stemshoots or we probably won’t see them. Please, avoid kids faces, unless they are your own family. Then, when our next applications are due in January 2019), we search #WalkNP. Our community’s pictures will be there to support our case. Pictures of the following will help us win:
- Our year round active travel programs – Weekly or monthly themed walking programs. (E.g., Walking Wednesdays.) Your Walking School Bus or days when your carpool walks. Valentines for Crossing Guards to encourage winter walking. Or just our kids walking in Winter. In Spring. In Fall.
- 2018 Events – District wide Walk & Roll days in 2018.
- Spring – April 25th, 2018. Celebrate Earth Day.
- Fall – Usually Tuesday of the 2nd week of school
- Bike Rodeo Show the excitement around our local right of passage for 3rd graders. E.g., I’m finally old enough to take my bike to school for the first time!
- Our Active Transportation Best Practices
- Using a DROP-n-GO or PARK-n-WAIT for remote pick up/drop off
- Bike racks in use
- Our well-trained Crossing Guards doing their thing.
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Active support of the above from your school’s PTA, PTO, or PTSA. Also, any municipal employees including police officers, and municipal staff.
- Our celebratory patch and #WalkNP may count as “innovative projects.” This would help us qualify in future years.
Current Safe Routes to School Recognition Levels (last 3 years)
It is particularly important that we document our efforts in 2018. That is because three of our entities are up for recertification.
Re-apply next January (2019)
- 2016 Municipality – New Providence – Gold
- 2016 School – Allen W Roberts Elementary School – Gold
- 2016 School – New Providence Middle School – Silver
Applied last January (2018)
- 2015 School – Salt Brook School Elementary School – Silver
New Providence High School now Eligible
Originally, the SRTS grant program applied only to K-8 schools. Now high schools are eligible as well. Since our Middle and High School are co-located, they share the same routes.
Following the rubric and great documentation will help us win
Our kids follow a teacher’s rubric to “win” at school. For example, state governments publish rubrics to guide us in bringing our state and federal tax dollars home to work in our local communities. Not only do we need to follow the rubrics, but we need to provide ample documentation that we’ve done so. Folks sitting in our state and nation’s capitals need data demonstrating that we walk and roll to school, especially since they may have never visited our community. Overwhelming evidence of community support will help us win grant funds. It is a long game that takes years, but together we can play it well.
Benefits of the NJ SRTS Recognition Program
- Promote and encourage safe walking and biking to school for healthier, happier students.
- Earn Sustainable Jersey points for our municipality. New Providence earned bronze level recognition in 2016 and will reapply next year
- Earn Sustainable Jersey for Schools points for our school or district. – I don’t believe we’ve applied for these yet. High School courtyard funding?
- Earn points for SRTS Infrastructure grant applications, like the last one we won. These are primarily bicycle and pedestrian projects.
- We can also earn points towards other recognition and grant programs such as Safe Routes to Transit, Bikeways, Safe Routes to School grants. For details this grant training gives a great overview.
Safe Routes to School earns points towards bicycle and pedestrian projects. We can also earn points towards other recognition and grant programs
Where do I find my Safe Route to School?
- Plan your Walk, Roll or Drive New Providence Schools with our Interactive Maps
- Safe Routes to New Providence Middle and High School
- Safe Routes to Allen W. Roberts Elementary School
- Safe Routes to Salt Brook Elementary School
- New Providence’s School Travel Plan
Start small, End Big!
This year’s character education slogan sums it up well “Start small… End Big”. Let’s show our school age kids how we can share small steps, that will help us end Big.
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