Amid high gas prices, hundreds join annual walk-to-school event

By Kyle B. Hansen

Wednesday, April 27, 2011 | 12:26 p.m.

They don’t drive on their own, but they already get the message: Walking to school saves gas.

That wasn’t the main idea officials were hoping to get through to students Wednesday, but it’s a sign of the times as rising gas prices coincided with the second annual Nevada Moves Day, held to encourage students to be healthy and active by walking or biking to school.

Students collected stickers, pencils, zipper pulls and other prizes outside Robert Lunt Elementary School after walking with their friends, parents and teachers from Freedom Park, a half-mile away.

A group of fifth-grade girls was happy to shout out the benefits of walking: “It saves gas.” “You get to hang out with your friends.” “It’s good for your health.”

While parents may be encouraging their children to limit car trips because of gas prices, teachers and school administrators were focused on the health and safety aspects of walking.

“This works perfect for what we are trying to teach in their school and takes it out into the community and gives (students) a connection to everyday life,” Lunt Assistant Principal Mary Scialabba said.

Lunt has made wellness a theme this year, with physical education teacher Chris Regan holding regular sessions on health topics followed by a 20-minute walk around the school field. All of the students, plus about 240 parents, siblings and staff members usually join the walks, Regan said.

Cheers broke out in the school cafeteria Tuesday when Scialabba announced the walk-to-school event. One group of students went to work mapping out their route so they could walk together to the park before walking to school.

Rebecca Kapuler, the Safe Routes to School coordinator for the Nevada Department of Transportation, organized the first Nevada Moves Day last spring, when 36 schools participated. This year, 78 schools held some sort of walking or biking event, Kapuler said.

“We want to celebrate walking and biking to school and show parents how easy it is to start your day with a little exercise,” she said. “We know that kids that are active and exercise are healthy and ready to learn when they get to school.”

Officials also hope that encouraging students to walk or bike to school will reduce the number of parents who drive their children, thus decreasing traffic as school begins and ends.

“If we decrease traffic, we increase the safety,” said Cheryl Wagner, the Clark County School District’s Safe Routes to School Coordinator.

Wagner said parents frequently complain that it’s not safe for their kids to walk to school, while principals complain about the traffic at the school from parents who won’t let their kids walk.

Both NDOT and the School District have worked to increase safety by installing crosswalks and signs, giving crossing guards flashing stop signs and teaching students how to safely cross streets, Kapuler said.

It’s an effort to shift the mood when it comes to transportation to and from school, she added.

Thelma Davis, the principal at Lunt, seemed to enjoy seeing parents and teachers join with the kids for the walk.

“It’s a real community feel here,” she said as she watched the children file into the building.