Student Walkers Stand Proud
By Howard Buck and Amy McFall Prince, The Columbian Staff Writers
Monday, October 11, 2004
Students at Clark County's only all-walking school hit the streets early Wednesday morning, proud to celebrate National Walk Your Kids to School Day.
Vancouver's Washington Elementary School serves about 380 students who walk to school from various parts of the Rosemere neighborhood. The students gather in front of the school daily, many accompanied by parents, grandparents and neighbors.
On Wednesday, representatives from Vancouver Police Department, American Medical Response, and the Vancouver-Clark Parks and Recreation volunteered to walk with the kids to school.
The event was also to promote walking for any students who may be within reasonable distance of their school. That promotes a healthy lifestyle and can help combat the growing problem of childhood obesity.
Here are a couple of safe-walking tips: Make sure adults model good behavior such as looking both ways before crossing a street and using crosswalks. Also, teach children to make eye contact with a driver before crossing the street. This ensures that the driver has seen the child.