DC Public Schools Will Teach All Second Graders to Ride Bikes This Year
Along with science, math, and other areas of study, second graders in the Washington, DC, public school system will have a new scholastic standard to meet this year: learning how to ride a bicycle.
Designed to tackle inequalities between the city’s schools, a new DC-wide initiative called “Cornerstones” is standardizing certain skillsets students learn in each grade across the city. The cycling initiative is the first systemic program of its kind nationally—and hopefully its potential short- and long-term successes will be things of which more school districts take note.
Cycling has been included in the unique new program for a few reasons. Bike skills presented one of the biggest disparities throughout the school system, says Miriam Kenyon, director of health and physical education with DC Public Schools, with up to 60 percent of children unable to ride a bike in some parts of the city. And though cycling was already a critical part of the district’s physical education program, many of the fifth grade kids who attended bike safety programs led by the Washington Area Bicycle Association had no actual cycling experience.
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Now, all second grade students will not only have the opportunity to learn to ride bikes, but they’ll also have access to a bike library while at school, which will be available for students of all grades. Getting all DCPS kids riding is a big project but one with a lot of potential positive outcomes, Kenyon says. A cyclist herself, she says she hopes more kids start bike commuting to school or riding with their families on local trails for fun, for exercise, and to see the city.
“Cycling builds independence,” Kenyon says. “When I was growing up, I had friends in junior high and high school, and we would ride across the city to meet up on our bikes. It gave me a mode of transportation and freedom without having to rely on my parents.”
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Here’s how the new bike education works: Hundreds of bikes have already shipped to some of the district’s 79 elementary schools for the fall semester. The students start with learning helmet safety and how to inspect their bikes through ABC checks (air, brakes, and chain) before moving on to lessons about hand signals and wearing bright, visible clothing. They use balance bikes to learn the basics of balancing and steering around obstacles. Once they’ve been checked off for all the necessary skills and can demonstrate safe cycling, they receive an “I’m a Safe Rider” certificate and are taken on a group bike ride to a local park.
Because a key element of the program is making cycling equally available to kids from all backgrounds, Kenyon says she’s also working with local bike shops to see about making some bikes easier to attain for kids in need.
“Once we teach everyone how to ride a bike and they go on a ride, hopefully kids will want a bike,” she says. “If they can’t afford it, we’ll have resources to give them more opportunities to get a bike at a cheaper price or through donation.”
Bikes have already started arriving at some schools, and Kenyon says the kids are “super-excited to give them a try.” She can envision bike clubs starting up at the schools and a future where all kids graduating from DC public schools share the experience of knowing how to ride a bike.
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