Safe Routes to School Program

Alameda County Nutrition Services partners with the Alameda County Public Works Department, the City of Oakland Police Department, Oakland Unified School District’s (OUSD) Wellness Office with Transform. Together, we are the Be Oakland, Be Active partnership.

We support the coordination of Safety Patrols in OUSD by recruiting parents and training them in partnership with the City of Oakland Police Department to create safety at their children’s school site. These Safety Patrol parent advisors, often working alongside, the school-based, OUSD wellness champion, bring awareness to increased pedestrian safety. Over the years, ACNS secured resources to strengthen and expand the Safety Patrol Program from 10 schools in the flatlands and expanding the program to 37 schools yearly.

Throughout the history of the Safe Routes to School Program, ACNS has worked with police department and school officials to recognize that schools were not built for the ever increasing number of vehicles that were converging on schools designed for pedestrian traffic. With grant support ACNS helped design school based Traffic Safety Plans which implemented strategies to create traffic flow systems around schools to minimize the risk of students and families getting hit as they walked to and from school. These statue-funded grants also brought in much needed resources to train and equip parents, community members, and students to run their school chapters.

In late 2018, ACNS and the partners will expand even further to include Oakland students attending public charter schools serving families from elementary through middle school youth. This is called Active Oakland.

Who We Serve
In 2017, we served over 1,000 Oakland students who signed up to be Safety Patrol leaders representing 37 school sites. Through our partnership, we are able to reach 41 schools providing a menu of supportive services such as Walk and Roll to School days, Bike Mobiles, Golden Sneaker activities. The reach expands to the entire student bodies of these schools and their families as they benefit from Safety Patrol services, pedestrian and helmet safety education and promotion of healthier, less sedentary lifestyles through increased walking and biking.

The Safety Patrol Program is a comprehensive approach to both implement site specific Traffic Safety Plans, teach pedestrian safety and confidence to students and families and actually reduce the possibility of being hit by a vehicle while walking or riding to school. The program also develops leadership and life skills to participating safety patrol students and adults by creating expectations for attendance, problem solving and public speaking.

Thank you, to Paul Keener and team of the Alameda County Public Works department, for being our partner in the administration of Safe Routes to School.
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To find out more, contact Rafael Cortez at Rafael.cortez@acgov.org or 510-268-4206.