Over 350 San Ramon Valley Students Took Part in Street Smarts Walk/Bike Challenge

This spring, 386 students from 7 elementary schools in the San Ramon Valley participated in the Street Smarts Walk/Bike Challenge, a contest that challenges students to use their own power to get themselves to and from school.

From March 31 to May 2, students from the following elementary schools were challenged to “Walk and Roll” to school as many times as possible: Creekside, Green Valley, Hidden Hills, John Baldwin, Quail Run, Vista Grande, and Walt Disney. Participating students went to www.walkbikechallenge.com and logged the number of trips that they walked, biked, skateboarded, or rode a scooter to and from school or to and from the TRAFFIX bus stop.

During the five-week challenge, participating students made 7,403 walking, biking, skateboarding, and scootering trips. They walked over 4,000 miles to and from school, and they biked, skateboarded, and scootered over 1,500 miles. 

Cathy DeLuca, Street Smarts Program Coordinator, stated, “It’s exciting to see so many local children walking and biking to school. Not only is it great exercise, but a recent study found that walking and biking to school increases children’s concentration for several hours afterwards. And when you add the environmental benefits of less cars on the road, the positive effects of this contest keep adding up.” 

The following classrooms from each school had the highest rates of participation:

• Creekside – Ms. Miyamoto’s kindergarten class
• Green Valley – Mrs. Ransdell’s 4th grade class
• Hidden Hills – Mrs. Van Aken’s 5th grade class
• John Baldwin – Tie between Mrs. Swanson’s 3rd grade class and Mrs. Daniels’ 4th grade class
• Quail Run – Ms. Sun’s 1st grade class
• Vista Grande – Mrs. Littlejohn’s 2nd grade class
• Walt Disney – Mrs. Windham’s transitional kindergarten class

As a reward for their efforts, these classrooms each received a gift card for a classroom party. In addition, all participants were entered into a raffle to win one of three gift certificates to a local bike shop. The more trips the students made, the more raffle tickets they earned. The raffle winners were:

1.      Kate Millis, Green Valley Elementary: $150 gift certificate

2.      Augi Madia, John Baldwin Elementary: $100 gift certificate

3.      William Pierotti, Creekside Elementary: $50 gift certificate

For more information about the contest, visit www.walkbikechallenge.com or contact Cathy DeLuca, Street Smarts Coordinator, at 925-314-3382 or cathy@street-smarts.com.