SPRINGDALE -- Students at every elementary and secondary school in the Springdale School District will have access to bicycles as a result of a recent grant.
The $262,000 grant will come from the Walton Family Foundation after the district comes up with $88,000 to match it, said Kevin Thornton, senior communications officer for the foundation. The money will be used to supply each school in the district with bicycles, helmets and tools for repair and maintenance.
At A Glance (w/logo)
Benefits Of Bicycles
• Cycling can be done with friends and family members.
• Cycling can help children develop strength and balance.
• Cycling helps children burn calories.
• Cycling gives children an opportunity to spend time outside.
Source: Staff Report
District officials originally approached the foundation with the idea, Thornton said. Foundation officials were interested in helping because it's a way to get students to use the Razorback Regional Greenway and other trails. The foundation also gave Bentonville and Fayetteville school districts grants for bicycles within the past two years.
Each elementary school will get 28 bicycles, and secondary schools will each get 30 bicycles, said Mary Miller, school health coordinator for the district. Prekindergarten classes won't get any and neither will Elmdale or Parson Hills elementary schools. The two elementary schools received grants in recent years for bicycles.
The bicycles will be used in physical education classes, Miller said. All fifth-, seventh- and ninth-grade physical education students will have an annual field trip on the greenway. Some students will cycle to the regional trail, while those further away will be bused.
Officials are also interested in creating cycling clubs in the high schools, Miller said. The groups would give students opportunities for supervised cycling trips.
Cycling can help instill healthy habits in children, said Kim Sanders, bicycle and pedestrian coordinator for the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department. It also can encourage children to use bicycles as a mode of transportation, which may help them become better drivers as adults.
Several physical education teachers will receive training to become licensed cycling instructors, Miller said. Those teachers will then train other teachers. Training will include safety practices, instruction in how to ride a bicycle and maintenance and repair.
An agriculture power systems teacher at Springdale High School will participate in bicycle repair training during the summer, Miller said. He will work with his students to maintain and repair the bicycles.
Miller said she is working to collect money for the matching requirement. The district has already received $9,000 in grants and donations. The district will spend about $2,000 toward bicycle storage at each of the 27 schools as part of the matching money. She said she hopes to have all the matching money in early 2015.
The district then will receive the Walton Family Foundation grant and purchase the bicycles, Miller said.
The Bicycle Coalition of the Ozarks will help assemble the units.
School officials want the bicycles to be in use by spring.
NW News on 12/11/2014