Sligo Creek Elementary School:
Safety First, Right from the Start

Transportation safety is important for every school. At a new school, however, it’sjust one of many issues vying for attention in the flurry of activity before and during the inaugural year. This is a story of how concerted efforts on the part of local high school students, community members, the PTA, and the school’s principal and faculty madegetting to school safely a high priority from the very beginning at Sligo Creek Elementary School in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Identifying the Problem and Taking Action

Sligo Creek Elementary opened its doors on September 1, 1999. As the newest elementary school in the County, it faced all of the challenges of any new school. But it also facedadditional issues that arose from the fact that the school is located in a building that wasoriginally a high school. When the high school moved to a new, larger facility in 1998, the county renovated and converted the building to accommodate both an elementary school (Sligo Creek) and a middle school (Silver Spring International).

In the fall of 1997 (the last year that the high school occupied the building), three tenth-graders began working on a “Change Project” as part of their High School Communications Arts Program. Their project focused on getting a sidewalk built along the major road bordering the school property. Their personal experience of trying to walk along this busy, winding road had convinced them that it would be too dangerous for elementary- and middle-school students unless there was a sidewalk.

To accomplish their objective, the students first conducted a petition drive among their neighbors to determine the level of support (it was enthusiastically received by everyone).They also spoke with a member of the neighborhood association, who told them about the pitfalls of previous efforts to get a sidewalk built. After practicing how to make a businesscall, they contacted the Montgomery County Department of Public Works and Transportation (DPWT) to set up a meeting with the person in charge of sidewalk construction. They prepared for the meeting by making maps of the neighborhood, making lists and taking photographs of dangerous spots for pedestrians, and rehearsing their arguments. When they presented their case to the county official in March 1998, she agreed immediately that a sidewalk was needed. Shortly thereafter, the students received a letter from the county stating that their proposal had been approved. However, the letter noted that construction might not begin for several years due to high demand for new sidewalks and the need for planning studies.

Enter the PTA. Parents whose children would be attending the new elementary school formed a provisional PTA in January 1998 in order to build a cohesive community, monitor the renovation, and prepare for the opening of the school. A high priority for many parents was creating a safe route for children to walk to school. A parent who had a strong personal interest in the sidewalk issue agreed to serve as co-chair of the Facilities Committee and to coordinate the PTA’s efforts in this area.

In May 1998, shortly after the high school students had obtained provisional approval for the sidewalk, the PTA began sending letters and making phone calls to all parties involved in creating a safe route for walkers. These included the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), the DPWT and the Montgomery County Council.

In November 1998, at the PTA’s request, representatives of the school system, the county transportation offices and the PTA met at the street that runs in front of the new elementary school. They discussed construction of the sidewalk and identified several other issues, including the need for a new traffic pattern and stop sign. This meeting led to the county and the school system developing detailed transportation plans for the new elementary and middle schools.

The PTA’s persistent efforts were instrumental in getting the school system and the county transportation agencies to communicate directly about issues pertaining to the new sidewalk, which in turn enabled them to resolve problems that were causing delays. For example, the DPWT could not finalize construction plans for the sidewalk until it received statistics from the school system regarding how many students would be walking to the school and from which direction. Once the two offices communicated directly, the school system provided the information to DPWT so that construction planning could proceed.

Concrete Results

To the delight of everyone, construction of a sidewalk began in the summer of 1999. The first section was completed in time for children to walk to school on the opening day. The sidewalk was approximately half of the distance proposed by the high school students and the PTA. The county stated that right-of-way and terrain issues were making it difficult to construct the remainder of the proposed sidewalk. However, after continued communications from the PTA, the county council and others in the community, the county announced in May 2000 that it would extend the sidewalk several blocks further, with construction scheduled for the fall. The PTA will continue to lobby for the sidewalk to extend at least as far as the school boundary line so that all children who are expected to walk to school can do so safely.

Partners in the School

The community’s concern for transportation safety is shared by the principal and staff of Sligo Creek elementary. Since the school has opened, the importance of safety has been consistently stressed to students, staff, and parents. The school principal sets a strong example by personally supervising the arrival and departure of students each day.

A guidance counselor coordinates the school’s partnership with the Montgomery County Police Department. Through this partnership, one county officer trains student safety patrols on how to keep children safe when they walk to school or ride the bus, and another officer visits classrooms to discuss a wide range of safety issues, including transportation safety. The county police department also provides a crossing guard at the busy intersections and it helped plan and conduct the school’s first bike rally.

Teachers actively promote safety on a daily basis. They help maintain an orderly atmosphere when students get on and off the school bus, and they have conducted evacuation drills to help students understand the importance of safety on the bus and what to do in an emergency. They also supervise the safety patrols.

A survey was conducted to assess transportation safety during the school’s inaugural year so that future years can be even better.

Contacts

To learn more about the Sligo Creek PTA’s efforts to improve pedestrian safety near the school, contact Gordon Stoner, co-chair of the Facilities Committee, at (301) 565-9559. For information on how the elementary school promotes transportation safety, contact Dr. Michael Martirano at (301) 562-2722. For information about the Communications Art Program at Montgomery Blair High School, contact Dr. Dolores D’Angelo at (301) 649-2854.