Students to board the “Walking School Bus”

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An initiative involving school children that’s been done around the country and around the world for the past couple decades is now coming to Galesburg, with hopes it will grow here.

The Galesburg School District and some other groups like “We Fit Together” and “Heart and Soul” are looking for a few good volunteers to, essentially, go for a walk twice a week to start with Silas Willard Elementary School students this fall.

A world-wide initiative called “The Walking School Bus” is coming to Galesburg, starting at Silas, where students will walk with screened volunteers to school every morning, learning about their surroundings while promoting a healthy lifestyle.

“Today’s world only one out of ten kids basically walk or bike to school and about half the kids are getting there by car.” Said Fire Chief Tom Simkins. “I know even at Silas [Willard Elementary] a lot of times if you go there – I’ve kind of been monitoring for the last several months. A lot of times two people in the car, adult and the kid, and it creates congestion.”

Simkins is one of the people helping to organize the efforts, and says one of the reasons he’s found not many kids walk to school is because of the threat of abduction or other crimes.

He explained that the walking school bus is adults walking a group of kids to school on a preset route, just like a school bus. “You have a driver in the front, conductor in the back, and depending on how many people – somebody in the middle.”

Volunteers will walk with the students, but they’ll also be screened before they can start walking. An orientation is scheduled for August 30th, but you can call Silas Willard for more information.

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