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 KidsWalk-to-School
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Introduction

Drawing of Max with a crayonTo support the national goal of better health through physical activity, CDC's Nutrition and Physical Activity Program has developed KidsWalk-to-School. This is a community-based program that aims to increase opportunities for daily physical activity by encouraging children to walk to and from school in groups accompanied by adults.

At the same time, the program advocates for communities to build partnerships with the school, PTA, local police department, department of public works, civic associations, local politicians, and businesses to create an environment that is supportive of walking and bicycling to school safely. By creating active and safe routes to school, walking to school can once again be a safe, fun, and pleasant part of children's daily routine.

The goals of KidsWalk-to-School are to

Anticipated benefits of the KidsWalk-to-School program include

Selected Resources

Drawing of Max walking to schoolWalking and Bicycling to School: Community Presentation 
Information in the PowerPoint presentation may be presented to a neighborhood, school, or community to increase knowledge and interest in participating in a Walk & Bicycle to School program.

Walk-to-School Programs Quick Start ResourcePDF file (PDF-65k)
This resource is intended to provide key references, tools, and components for the planning, implementation, evaluation, and promotion of walk-to-school programs. Nonfederal Web site addresses are provided for informational purposes only, and this listing does not imply CDC endorsement of these programs.

Train the Trainer
This PowerPoint presentation was developed to encourage state level promotion of walk and bicycle to school programs by building state level partnerships and assisting local constituents to develop walk and bicycle to school programs. Includes various reference links.

KidsWalk: Then and Now — Barrier and Solutions
Rates of walking to and from school have declined since first measured in 1969. This page explores the reported barriers to walking and bicycling to/from school over time as a possible explanation, and offers potential solutions to overcome barriers.

There are other materials available in our resources page, as well as links to other KidsWalk programs and events on our related links page.

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* Links to non-Federal organizations found at this site are provided solely as a service to our users. These links do not constitute an endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the Federal Government, and none should be inferred. CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages found at these links.

Page last reviewed: May 22, 2007
Page last updated: May 22, 2007
Content Source: Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion