Marin County Safe Routes to Schools
Team Leader Newsletter
June 2004

TEAM LEADER UPDATES

1.. Vote IJ poll
2.. Turn in Your Frequent Rider Miles Cards
3.. Evaluation surveys
4.. Join a parade
5.. Back to School Package
6.. Sign up for SchoolPool
7.. Team Leader Training in August
8.. Notes from Team leader Meeting

Have a Great Summer! Walk and Bike a lot. We'll see you in the Fall. (no enewsletter for July)

TEAM LEADER UPDATES

1.. Vote in the Marin IJ Poll

The Marin Independent Journal is currently conducing a poll on whether readers believe that Safe Routes to School can relieve traffic congestion. It will only take a minute for you to vote. Please go to http://www.marinij.com/Stories/0,1413,234%257E24407%257E2182370,00.html?search=filter and cast your vote. The survey is down at the bottom of the right hand column.

2.. Turn in Your Frequent Rider Miles Cards

We hope that you have had a wonderful Frequent Rider Miles contest and have arranged for your assembly to give out the prizes. Please turn in your Frequent Rider Miles cards so that we can evaluate participation in the contest. Please also give us the name of the bicycle winner and his or her parent's name and phone number. Please send this information to our main office c/o Melanie Grubman at 733 Center Blvd., Fairfax, CA 94930. Make arrangements through Melanie@marinbike.org. 456-3469 ext. 5#.

3.. Evaluation surveys

Every year we ask our Team Leaders to evaluate our program. Your feedback is important so we can continue to improve the program each year. Please fill out the attached survey and email it back to me at wendi@marinbike.org. You can also fax it to me at 488-0926.

4.. Join a Parade

Safe Routes to Schools will be participating with the Marin County Bicycle Coalition in both the Fairfax parade this Saturday, June 5th and the Larkspur/Corte Madera parade July 4th. If you want to join us in Fairfax come to the Albertson's parking lot on Center Blvd at 9:15 AM. For more information contact Frances@marinbike.org or call 456-3469 ext. 2#. You can see photos from the recent Mill Valley parade on the Marin County Bicycle Coalition's website, www.marinbike.org. The kids were having a lot of fun!

5.. Back to School Package

Start out next year with a bang by helping us get a transportation letter into your school package. Each year, every school sends out a package in August with introductory materials for the school. We have a letter that can be combined with this package to introduce parents to Safe Routes to Schools, the SchoolPool project, and other transportation options for your school. Reed School District is already including the letter in their package. Help us get a letter into your school's package. Contact wendi@marinbike.org.

6.. Sign up for SchoolPool

If your school is not signed up for SchoolPool we recommend that you do this before your principal disappears for the year. Most principals will be around for at least one or two weeks after school lets out. The process to register your school with RIDES is fairly easy. This will allow you to be ready at the beginning of the year. For more information contact wendi@marinbike.org

7.. Team Leader Training in August

Our yearly Team Leader Training is tentatively scheduled for the Saturday, August 28 from 9 am to 1 pm. This year we plan to broaden the training to include techniques for speaking in public, writing letters and newsletter items, recruiting volunteers and promoting the program. Please mark your calendar.

8.. Notes from the Team Leader Meeting

We had a lively discussion at our Team Leader Meeting last week. We brainstormed the ways in which we can change the culture from one of driving to one of choosing alternatives. Here are the notes from the meeting:

Brainstorm:

• Invite officials/Public works to walk with kids
• Took 3 years to change culture at Saint Marks - phases. Participating assembly, ask kids what they think. 28% traffic reduction
• Present big picture to parents - countywide program, one of many schools doing this
• Borrow good ideas
• Parents ignorance - big problem - need to bike with kids
• Need to spend hours riding with kids, education good - makes safe for Middle School
• Don't feed the fear culture
• When doing events - have sense of community - why go back to old habits? Weekly walk/roll - encourages daily
• Assign kids to interview parents about when they walked to school - make parents remember
• Joy factor - start smiling - person having fun. Follow rules of the road. Don't scowl at those driving - make them think
• MV school - kids promoting - cheerleading. Every Wednesday - see having fun, some parents feel guilty driving
• Positive ideas - present to parents, community building
• Stranger danger - sometimes just an excuse - more chance of being hit by lightning. Need to entice by having fun. Safety in numbers
• Letters to editor - school newsletters. Announcements on loud speakers
• Places to intervene in a system - on web Donnella Meadows
• Team leaders are not alone - part of a national movement. Part of something big
• Bring it up from grassroots. Find volunteers to help

Volunteer discussion

• Different reasons for people to get involved
• Find people to do different tasks - take on a piece
  • Walk and Roll chairman
  • SchoolPool program
• Connectors in schools - PTA, student council - help you get the word out - whole school can learn about it
• Found nine people to run SR2s at MVMS - ideal parents - all said Yes, set up for September to help next year. Parents to go into each grade to talk about SR2S at the beginning of each season
• Staff coming up with a folder and packet for each event - provide resources
• Creating web-based game - Walk and bike Across America
• Ask now for next year volunteers
• Get on agenda for back to school night
• Get kids involved,
• Rotaries and churches provide volunteers and funds
• School handbook - get info to schools now - come out before school - Wendi will have packets talk to her - she will send it to Team Leaders
• October 6 is Walk to School Day
• Banner to go on tables for Walk and roll Days

On guard program - each classroom takes a turn - parents signs up be3fore or after school for 10 minutes to be crossing guards. Make schedule in beginning of year - sign up in school office

For more information please contact Wendi Kallins, Safe Routes to Schools Program Director at (415) 488-4101 or wendi@marinbike.org

Safe Routes to Schools is a program funded by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and administered by the County of Marin on behalf of the Marin County Congestion Management Agency and the County, Cities and Towns of Marin.

Department of Public Works
County of Marin
P. O. Box 4186
San Rafael, CA 94913-4186