Tim Pehlke

Center for Public andNonprofit Management

April 2015

UCF Walking School Bus was founded in April 2013 with funding from the Florida Depart-ment of Transportation (FDOT). In a Walking School Bus (WSB) young people, typically elementary aged, walk to school together regularly along a designated route under the super-vision of trained adult volunteers. Through involvement with WSB young people learn pedes-trian safety, develop health habits and form new friendships. This report attempts to provide an overview of this program’s activities and to make recommendations for the future. Topics addressed include marketing, partnerships, site management, walking routes, risk manage-ment and supplies.

In a Walking School Bus (WSB) a group of young people (typically elementary aged) meet regularly to walk to school together under the supervision of trained adult mentors. One of the key advantages of the program is its flexibility. WSB may originate from different locations (including individual homes, community centers, parks, etc.), times (AM, PM or both) and days of the week depending on community needs.

WSB began in Denmark in the 1970s (Craddock et al, 2012) and have since spread all over the world. There are currently active WSB in England, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and locations across the United States. This program began in April 2013 through a grant from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and is operated out of the Center for Public and Nonprofit Management, the applied research arm of the School of Public Admin-istration at the University of Central Florida.

At the time this program began there were three WSB programs operating in the FDOT District Five region (which includes nine counties located in East Central Florida). These pro-grams were started through an earlier Florida Department of Health (FDOH) initiative. By the spring of 2015 the UCF Walking School Bus program had grown to include nine schools serving nearly 500 youth along 13 walking routes in three counties (see Figure 1). Among the original FDOT sites 66% continued operating for the duration of the project. New programs have been added at seven sites, which include a combination of community schools, charter schools, and after-school programs (see Figure 2).

Walking School Bus Enrollment (2013-2015) and Active Sites

The program was tasked with (1) expanding access to WSB programming in the East Central Florida (FDOT District 5) region and (2) developing program best practices for adoption at other locations across the state. The program grew from three sites developed under a previous Florida Department of Health (FDOH) program serving approximately 100 students in two counties to include nine sites serving nearly 500 elementary school students across a three county region.

Overcoming public concerns about the safety of walking conditions represents a significant challenge. This program found success in implementing a multi-modal marketing strategy that

included use of a professionally designed logo, photos, print materials, promotional video, traditional media, and social media. These efforts were amplified through the strategic use of partnerships to con-nect with community decision makers, identify resources and gain access to other helpful tools. Organi-zations with mutually aligned missions in the area of children’s health and safety proved most conducive to such arrangements.

Another key to success came in developing and maintaining a volunteer management system. Establish-ing regular lines of communication and conducting regular sites visits were a vital part of this strategy. This program made ample use of new and emerging technologies in an effort to streamline documenta-tion requirements and create a more positive volunteer experience. Use of an online enrollment system and group texting app proved most beneficial to volunteers.

The safety of youth participants is a critical concern for WSB programs. It is critical to involve com-munity members in a thorough examination of existing infrastructure as a part of any route develop-ment effort. These efforts should be combined with the development of a risk management protocol that includes volunteer screening/training, school agreements, and youth enrollment procedures. Upon formation it is important to outfit sites with adequate safety equipment. This program found safety vests for volunteers, brightly colored t-shirts for youth participants, wagons for student backpacks, and recog-nition materials to be of greatest need.

With regard to the future, it is recommended that further efforts be made to address school district level liability concerns. This would include continuing to refine risk management protocols with input from across the community. Additional efforts should be made to connect with higher risk urban schools, with presentations tailored to address school’s most pressing concerns (e.g., car loop traffic congestion, student health, etc.). A multi-faced Safe Routes to School regional authority should be formed to pro-vide training, community education and technical expertise. Lastly, the continuing development of mobile technologies should prove helpful in creating more finely tuned walking routes.

About Walking School BusWalking School Bus partners with local communities to organize safe walking groups for schoolchildren led by trained adult mentors. We are a program of the Center for Public and Nonprofit Management at

the University of Central Florida funded through the Florida Department of Transportation.

Center for Public and Nonprofit ManagementCollege of Health and Public Affairs

University of Central Florida4364 Scorpius St.P.O. Box 161395

Orlando, FL 32816-1395

cpnm@ucf.eduwww.cohpa.ucf.edu/cpnm