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Educating the Student Body
that parents rated their child’s age as the most important factor in their 
decision to allow the child to walk to school. Other studies confirm that 
many 5- to 6-year-olds lack the skills to cope with traffic issues (Whitebread 
and Neilson, 2000), although other studies have found that neighborhood 
safety is unrelated to commuting practices in children (Humpel et al., 2004; 
Wilson et al., 2004). The “walking school bus” (i.e., when an adult escorts 
a group of children to school) has been shown to be an effective means of 
safely transporting children to and from school (Collins and Kearns, 2005). 
It may be noted that pedestrian and bicycling injury/death rates among 
youth have declined by 51 percent and 60 percent, respectively. However, 
the decrease in walking or biking among youth may have contributed to 
this downward trend (CDC, 2008).
Finally, parents identify the perceived fitness level of their children as a 
determinant of the children’s participation in active transport. Specifically, 
parents who perceive their children as being unfit prefer passive transporta-
tion (Yeung, 2008).
“Walking School Bus” Programs
School-endorsed “walking school buses” may address several of the 
barriers identified above—in particular, traffic and crime dangers (White 
House Task Force on Childhood Obesity, 2010). “Walking school buses” 
are popular means for walking young children to school securely in Europe 
and Australia but are just starting to emerge in the United States. A “walk-
ing school buses” often entails one or two adult volunteers escorting a 
group of children from pickup points or their homes to school along a 
fixed route, starting with the pickup point or home that is farthest from 
the school and stopping at other pickup points or homes along the way. 
For increased security for the youngest children, a rope that surrounds the 
group can be used. On the way back from school, the same system is used 
in the opposite direction.
The White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity’s (2010) Report to 
the President identifies “walking school buses” as a low-cost initiative that 
communities can undertake to increase physical activity among elementary 
school children. The prevalence of “walking school buses” remains low in 
the United States but is growing; in 2008-2009, about 4.2 percent of a rep-
resentative sample of public elementary schools organized “walking school 
buses”, with an increase to 6.2 percent in 2009-2010 (Turner et al., 2012). 
Examples of“walking school buse” programs are described in Box 6-2.
Parents’ engagement in school-based health promotion activities is 
another significant benefit of “walking school buses”. In some communi-
ties, “walking school buses” have provided opportunities for parents and 

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Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School
Approaches to Physical Activity in Schools
 
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other volunteers to remain engaged in the life of the community while 
increasing their own physical activity. 
Differences in Opportunities for Active Transport
The literature demonstrates that active transport varies among socio-
economic and ethnic groups and with the type of area (suburban, urban, or 
rural) (Davis and Jones, 1996; Dovey, 1999). Data from Bridging the Gap 
(Turner et al., 2010) demonstrate that one in four middle school students 
and one in eight high school students commute actively to and from school. 
Students of low socioeconomic status and those who attend schools where 
the majority of students are nonwhite (i.e., black and Latino) are more likely 
to walk or bike to and from school than those of high socioeconomic status 
and those who attend schools with a predominantly white student body.
Facilitators of Active Transport to School
Four common themes have been identified among schools with success-
ful active transport to school programs (Eyler et al., 2008):
•
collaboration among many organizations and individuals, including 
school personnel, public safety officials, city officials, parents, and 
school district representatives;
•
funding for personnel, program materials, and improvements to the 
built environment;
•
concerns about both traffic and crime being addressed; and
•
efforts to make the built environment more conducive to active 
transport by students.
The same study identified a number of important and specific factors and 
policies to be considered (see Table 6-4).
A useful five-component framework for planning programs to enhance 
active transport to school has been suggested (Fesperman et al., 2008). This 
framework begins with the development of a plan and the enlistment of key 
individuals and organizations for input and support. The planning phase 
is crucial and may take a full year. The implementation of programmatic 
activities (e.g., training in pedestrian and bicycle safety, walk-to-school 
days), policy changes (e.g., school speed zones, modification of school start 
and dismissal times), and physical changes (e.g., sidewalk improvement, 
installment of traffic calming devices) follow in a sequence appropriate for 
the specific school and plan. For all activities, promotional materials to 
ensure understanding and continued support should be disseminated.

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Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School
294