300 sixth grade students receive bike education at Hillview Middle
Published on November 08, 2022
In September, local parent Safe Routes to School champions provided a bike safety class at Hillview Middle to refresh students about the rules of the road and teach safety tips to avoid the most common collision situations between a bicycle and a car.
Christy, the Encinal Elementary parent champion, created a presentation that includes several videos on bicycle safety, specific to Menlo Park and the streets near Hillview Middle.
The 45-minute bike safety session was delivered over Zoom in sixth grade classrooms. The presentation was a continuation of the bike safety presentation that was given last school year to Encinal Elementary fifth graders (about a third of Hillview sixth graders).
The presentation covered practical safety tips for middle school students:
- The benefits of biking to school
- How to properly wear a helmet and how to dress to be visible on the road
- The safest routes for biking
- The rules of the road and California laws
- How to avoid the most common collisions
It provided guidance on navigating around trash cans that are in the bike lane, avoiding the door zone and watching out for potential right hooks.
The dynamic lesson includes many videos that recreate real-life situations, some of which were filmed in Menlo Park. The presentation also featured clips of Hillview students talking about why they like biking to school.
The parent champions who initiated the project are considering the feasibility of sharing the bike safety presentation more broadly across the school district. The parent champions and Hillview Middle School Administration will continue to provide bike safety education this school year.
To teach middle school students bike safety, Christy supported Encinal Elementary's participation in International Walk to School Day in October!