by Susan Gaeddert, Community Programs Director
This fall, I had the opportunity to work with two student projects at UW Madison. This is part 1. Part 2 will be published soon.
The first was for a group in a class called "Global Health and Communities: from Research to Praxis," taught by Lori DiPrete Brown at the School of Human Ecology. Lori recommended me as a mentor and partner because of our work in Beloit, WI with the Community Transportation Academy and street safety issues there. Over the course of the semester, I met regularly with a group of four global health students to develop a project that would contribute to their learning and benefit the community in Beloit.
During the Beloit Transportation Academy last winter/spring, safety concerns for children walking and biking to Todd Elementary was a recurring theme in class discussions. With the help of Principal Sam Karns, we conducted a walk audit around the perimeter of the school. We noted a number of infrastructure and cultural challenges that prevent children from walking or biking to school, including speeding traffic, crumbling sidewalks, lack of crossing guards, and a culture of driving.
When I brought this information to the students, they were very interested in looking at potential interventions to improve safety around the school. In November, we met with a Todd Elementary parent, former city councilmember, and community advocate, Brittany Keyes, who provided more community context and history for the group. While driving her child home after school, Brittany nearly hit a child who was crossing the street. This incident from nearly two years ago motivated her to take action to improve safety around the school.
The students looked at social, economic, and environmental factors in the City of Beloit and conducted a systems analysis to have a more holistic understanding of the factors that play into safe walkability for students. They looked at the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and determined that Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities was the most relevant for their project. Goals 3 (Good Health and Well-Being), 4 (Quality Education), 8 (Clean Water and Sanitation), and 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) also reflect the complex challenges and interdisciplinary nature of creating safe, walkable environments for children.
The final deliverable was a survey in English and Spanish that the school can administer to families. There are questions about how children commute to and from school, reasons for driving, who respondents believe is responsible for ensuring safety and teaching children about safety, and demographics. While there are some bureaucratic steps to go through before the school can distribute the survey, our hope is that it helps Todd Elementary and other schools in the Beloit School District support safe routes for students to walk and bike to school.
In my heart of hearts, I'm an educator. There is almost nothing more rewarding than working with students and learning alongside them. Many thanks to Lori DiPrete Brown for the opportunity, and to Morgan, Alex, Jojie, and Grace for your hard work and sincerity in this project.
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