Education

The City of Tacoma and Tacoma Public Schools educators partnered to create the elementary school pedestrian safety curriculum. This curriculum contains six lesson plans that aim to teach K-5 youth safe walking skills. The curriculum is designed to be taught in elementary PE classes and incorporates PE learning standards while teaching safe walking skills.

In-Person Materials

Use these materials to teach pedestrian safety in your school or program:

• Tacoma Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Elementary Pedestrian Curriculum
• Vocabulary & Crossing Rhyme Presentation
• Parent and guardian Take-home Handout – available in: English, Spanish, Khmer, Vietnamese, Russian, Korean.
• Newsletter copy – to use in school emails and newsletters to communicate about your PE pedestrian curriculum.
• Pedestrian Crossing Rhyme Poster – to mount in your school hallway or classroom(s).
• School Site Walk activity checklist
• Family involvement opportunity – Plan a Walk and Roll to School Day event!

The curriculum uses a kit that includes: two (2) mock roadways with four (4) crosswalks, vocabulary cards, traffic signals cards with handles, a large print of the pedestrian safety rhyme poster, and a binder containing a hard copy of the curriculum.

If you are a Tacoma Public Schools (TPS) educator, please contact Mandy Zylstra, Instructional Facilitator at TPS, to checkout a kit. If you are non-Tacoma Public Schools educator and are interested in teaching the pedestrian safety curriculum, email the City’s Safe Routes to School Coordinator.

Remote or Online Teaching

Use these slides and the videos linked above to teach the Pedestrian Safety Curriculum online.

• Lesson plan
• Lesson presentation slides:
  • Day 1
  • Day 2
  • Day 3
  • Day 4
• Asynchronous neighborhood scavenger hunt

This curriculum was made possible thanks to a grant from the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.

The City of Tacoma hosts bicycle rodeos at schools of focus to educate youth about basic bike handling and traffic safety skills. A bike rodeo contains a series of stations along a protected course that teach bike skills. Check out the SRTS Bike Rodeo kit to host your own bike rodeo by filling out the form linked below. Not all requests may be granted depending on conflicting events.

Additionally, the City of Tacoma pilots Traffic Gardens in partnership with schools and local organizations. Traffic gardens are a mini-scale set of connected streets for youth to practice biking, walking, and actively rolling in a fun, low-stress environment. Visit the Traffic Gardens web page for more information.

Student safety patrols help promote pedestrian safety and student leadership at elementary schools in Tacoma. A school’s student safety patrol is made up of 4th and 5th grade students, an adult supervisor, and adults overseeing students while helping families cross.

Being a student patroller is an incredible leadership opportunity and a wonderful way that students help build community.

Use the City of Tacoma’s SRTS Student Safety Patrol Packet to start a program at your school! This zipped folder includes:

• Adult supervisor guidance
• Safety patrol overview for students
• Student/family recruitment digital images
• Student permission form
• Student Safety Patrol AAA program manual

Apply for the Washington Traffic Safety Commission’s “School Zone Crossing Guard Grant” for safety patrol or crossing guard supplies. Each elementary or middle school may apply for this $300-$500 grant once per year.

• 2nd Cycle Community Bike Shop hosts a youth program that empowers the next generation of Tacoma community members with bike skills and self-reliance. 2nd Cycle offers earn-a-bike courses, summer bike camps, and bicycle outreach leadership opportunities. Visit their website to learn about current bike education opportunities.
• Major Taylor Project offers students at participating middle and high schools with weekly after-school rides and bicycle safety and maintenance education. Learn more about the Major Taylor Project and participating schools on Cascade Bicycle Club’s Major Taylor Project website.
• Alchemy Skateboarding provides opportunities for youth to learn and grow through skateboarding. This is done through skate camps, leadership programs, and pop-up skate parks. Visit their website to see the latest classes and programs being offered.