‘Walk to School Day’ gets kids treading

Guy B. Phillips Middle School will offer students chances to win prizes like footballs, soccer balls and even tiaras today — just for walking to school.

Their event, like many others at elementary and middle schools in Chapel Hill, is part of the International Walk to School Day, which began in Chicago in 1997.

The day is designed to encourage children to walk or bicycle to school to promote better health and environmental awareness.

Nearly 3,000 schools from all 50 states and about 44 countries are registered to participate in the event.

“Our hope is that Walk to School Day will increase interest in walking and bicycling issues and have parents and students who don’t normally walk to school to try it out and see the benefits of it,” said Raquel Rivas, marketing manager for the National Center for Safe Routes to School.

Rivas said another goal of the program is to promote safety for pedestrians. The National Center for Safe Routes to School provides funding for infrastructure that allows children to walk to school safely.

Edwina Zagami, a Phillips Middle School nurse, said the goal of the program is to keep people moving.

“I think people need to understand, especially with the energy crisis and stuff, that you win both ways,” she said. “You win by not using your car and you win by getting exercise.”

Zagami said the school used to have a program called Walking Wednesdays that offered prizes to students who walked to school often.

Ephesus Road Elementary School will offer refreshments and stickers for children and parents who walk to school.

Ephesus Road Assistant Principal Victoria Creamer said the school has a large population of students who walk to school from nearby neighborhoods, and she expects many people to participate.

“First, it’s for their own good health,” Creamer said. “Second, it’s ecologically friendly … and third, it really builds community and helps bring the kids together to have a common goal and try to reach that goal.”

Estes Hills Elementary School will also participate with “walking school buses” — parents and students will meet in a designated location near the school and walk as a group.

Schools registered with the National Center for Safe Routes to School receive promotional ideas and certificates to give to children. But Rivas said many schools and organizations might participate without registering.

Stephanie Willis, health coordinator for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, said that Active Living by Design, an organization that promotes physical activity and better health, helped to promote Walk to School Day and that many schools were supportive of the event.

“It’s a tiny little piece of the overall effort to get children to be active,” Willis said.



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