Safe Routes to School Grant

In partnership with the North Carolina Department of Transportation, Mount Airy City Schools (MACS) aims to support safe and healthy methods for traveling to school through the Safe Routes to School Grant. This two-year grant allows the district to prioritize staff to support these projects for our students. Most importantly, our students are gaining opportunities for physical activity while developing strong relationships with school and district staff, as well as community members. We appreciate the consistent support of the NCDOT for this grant-funded opportunity to serve our students better. 

 

Through this project, we have aimed to continue our highly popular Walking School Bus (WSB) with BH Tharrington (BHT) Primary School. During the good weather months of September, October, March, April, and May, our BHT students, staff, and parents travel to school by walking the Granite City Greenway. Student groups, chaperoned by staff and parents, start at Chase and Charli's restaurant. We then travel along the greenway until we reach BHT Park and make the final steps up the hill, arriving along the sidewalk of Spring Street. This opportunity is available to both car and bus riders with parent permission. Our district is grateful for the opportunity to take our students out of the traditional classroom setting and allow them to experience real-world learning that promotes overall health and well-being, while also ensuring they understand our community resources.

 

MACS was beyond excited to revisit the Bike to School event with our Mount Airy Middle School (MAMS) students, staff and community members. Through our consistent and strong partnership with Mount Airy Parks and Recreation (MAPR), we could access 35 bicycles every Thursday this event was held; this helps us to ensure equity for all students wanting to participate. MAMS students would start rolling along the Granite City Greenway from Riverside Park until they reached direct access to their campus. This quick but fun and engaging bike ride is led by Mount Airy Police Department (MAPD) Officers. We are especially thankful for the consistent support of both MAPR and MAPD.