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ASRTS Training Tools and Resources

Presentation Materials from "Getting Active with Active & Safe Routes to School" March 2-3, 2009 training workshops:

Training for practitioners Overview

Active and Safe Routes to Schools programs provide a range of resources to support
schools in their efforts to promote walking or cycling options for the trip to school.
This training and orientation to this program has been developed to provide practitioners
in Canada with information, background, references and guidance on how to approach
this important work with school communities.

These resources have been designed for a number of audiences:

  • Individuals beginning to work in ASRTS, who will be delivering the program for one or more schools and working directly with school communities. These resources provide a basic understanding of the program, and identify considerations that will help them successfully work within schools with students, parents, teachers, administrators and outside schools with engineers, planners, public health practitioners and police who also have a role in this work.
  • Organizations or individuals seeking to design or develop ASRTS programs for their own community: municipal, regional, provincial or territorial.
  • Organizations or individuals who already work with an ASRTS program but seek to expand or extend their approach.

In these materials we will provide an overview of Active and Safe Routes to School
program design, and the approaches that are an intrinsic part of working through each
stage of the process.

In this work it is critical to recognize what you aim to achieve. ASRTS relies on
developing community. It relies on identifying common values, and building efforts to
create a culture in a school to support options to walk or cycle to school. Working with a
community you will be accessing the potential of that school, and support them in
discovering what they can do to change the world. Everything you do needs to be
considered in this larger context, and must contribute to strengthening the community
and their ability to work toward positive choices.


Background to ASRTS in Canada

ASRTS Definitions Adobe PDF Adobe (PDF - 87 KB)

ASRTS Programs in Canada Adobe PDF Adobe (PDF - 541 KB)

ASRTS School Research Adobe PDF Adobe (PDF - 50 KB)


Introduction for Training Resources


Traffic Safety

Education for ASRTS programs includes teaching essential traffic safety skills - pedestrian and bicycle safety education - as well as a focus on learning about the health, fitness and environmental considerations that relate to transportation choices. This is true not only for the students but for their families as well. We have provided a range of traffic safety information here to help get you started.

How Walkable is the School Site:


Activity ideas and examples for best routes mapping


Promotion Strategies


Encouragement & Fun

Creating opportunities for school communities to celebrate and enjoy an event or a series of events is an important part of developing a program that will be successful. There are many examples of schools using encouragement and fun to spark interest, inspiration and motivation for families to take part.

Special Events such as iwalk: International Walk to school Day, Week, Month in October each year Winter Walk Day, Earth to Clean Air Day, or Spring into Spring events that focus on active transportation.

Contests and opportunities to build interest and enthusiasm:

  • Walking Across Canada, Across the World, or into Space.
  • Events to focus on the feet: Decorated Sneaker Days, Rubber Boot Parades

Strategies to add students' efforts and present their achievements visually:

  • Greening the Trees, adding a leaf for each walker to a twisted paper vine, or to a branch from a tree
  • Using paper dolls to represent each walker, and mounting these on a poster or a display in the school halls
  • Treasure hunts, Nature and neighbourhood observation challenges, pedometer clubs, etc. all add interest, value and entertainment to your efforts to promote walk and bike options for the trip to school.

Here are some resource ideas to help create fun and excitement in your ASRTS program:


Evaluation


Child and Youth Engagement

Training and supporting groups of student leaders is an exciting way of engaging schools in walking and cycling promotion. Child and youth engagement has proven effective in the promotion of sustainable transportation with student leaders as young as Grade 4, through to Grade 12. Authentic collaboration with student leaders will ensure that activities are 'cool-proofed' and fun.

Download the child and youth engagement document here:


Sustainability


ASRTS Training Resources – U.S.

The following website provides a well organized and developed ASRTS resource for anyone wishing to understand more about developing or facilitating an ASRTS program initiative.

National Center for Safe Routes to School

There is also a comprehensive web based training system which is worth exploring. If you wish to create a login, provide all the relevant information where possible. Login registration requires you indicate a State and a Zip code. Please use North Carolina and the following zip code: 27599. (This is specific to the US National Centre for SRTS, so they will know that this login represents a visitor from outside the U.S.)

U. S. National Centre for Safe Routes to School, on-line training modules
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