Katie Galloway, kindergarten teacher at Pinnacle Academy, reached out to the Euclid Police Department (EPD) to create a bike to school event, which consisted of police escorting students from a local library to Pinnacle Academy by bike.
Galloway was inspired to plan the event after a family member had a bike to school day at his school and she saw how excited he was to participate in this event. She knew that she wanted to bring that excitement to the scholars at Pinnacle. The event was a great way to promote a healthy body, healthy mind, and happy child lifestyle to parents in their community and at school.
“It is my hope that students learned the importance of bike safety, saw riding as a fun way to exercise, and the rules of the road to have a happy and safe summer,” said Galloway.
At the event, Daniel Sulzer, second-grade teacher at Pinnacle, demonstrated proper hand signals that bicyclists use when Galloway noticed the students beginning to use them on their own ride. At the end of the school year, kindergarten students have a summer safety day which they teach students about bike safety, water safety, and fire safety to ensure students have a safe summer. “Students love the summer safety day, and it was fun to see this done on a larger scale in the building,” said Galloway.
EPD was thrilled to work with Pinnacle Academy and have the opportunity to do something fun and positive in the community that supported students. “The Chief of Police expressed they would be more than happy to participate in any other school events,” said Galloway. “We want to build that relationship in the future and foster positive interactions with the police and our students.”
There were nearly 40 students in attendance, ranging between first and seventh grade. Galloway hopes to continue this event in the school years to come!
Promoted by the League of American Bicyclists and celebrated in communities from coast to coast, National Bike Month is a chance to showcase the many benefits of bicycling and encourage more folks to give biking a try.