Eight-year-old Divya Dahal, center front, takes a break with other school children while walking home from school with a group of kids escorted by Allyson Trenteseaux, a Walking School Bus program manager, top, in Providence, R.I.PROVIDENCE, R.I. – As a group of children walked home together from school in Providence, they held hands and played the “I Spy” guessing game. When they reached a busy intersection, an adult accompanying them prodded, “What’s the rule?”
“Behind the line!” they said in unison, as they stepped back from the edge of the curb and waited for the walk signal.
Shortly after, the group stopped in front of 8-year-old Jaiden Guzman’s house. He said goodbye to his friends and raced to his front door. His mother waved and the rest of the walking school bus continued on its way.
For a growing number of children in Rhode Island, Iowa and other states, the school day starts and ends in the same way – they walk with their classmates and an adult volunteer to and from school. Walking school buses are catching on in school districts nationwide because they are seen as a way to fight childhood obesity, improve attendance rates and ensure that kids get to school safely.
Ten-year-old Rosanyily Laurenz signed up for the Providence walking school bus this school year. Before, she said, she was sometimes late to school when her grandmother didn’t feel well enough to walk with her.