Emerson Group Teams With City To Boost Bike Safety

The Emerson fifth graders working together with the City of Lakewood to improve biking in Lakewood are: (front row from left) Brodie Shaw, Claire Keum, Abbigayle Morgan; (back row from left) Victoria Donegan, Noah Stadler and Jacquelyn Folts.

A group of Emerson fifth graders has been working hard all year long in an effort to help make Lakewood a better and safer place to ride your bicycle. Along the way, the students learned a lot about bicycle safety, community outreach, teamwork and have even made a few new friends.

Back in the fall, Emerson Media Specialist Katie Bunsey was asked to work with a group of six fifth graders on an enrichment project. Bunsey thought it would be good for the students to do some sort of community outreach project, but wasn’t sure what it should be. She wanted to pick a subject that she knew the students would be interested in. The group, which is made up of Victoria Donegan, Jacquelyn Folts, Claire Keum, Abbigayle Morgan, Brodie Shaw and Noah Stadler, boiled it down to something with trains, bikes or walking. When Bunsey heard that the City of Lakewood was embarking on a project to improve the bicycling environment in Lakewood, she knew she had her answer.

After attending one of the community planning meetings conducted by the city’s assistant director of planning and development Dru Siley, Bunsey found out that one component lacking in the city’s research on biking in Lakewood was input from school-age kids. Bunsey knew her group could help fill that gap.

“I really wanted them to find a project they would be interested in and something that would help them see that they can have an impact in their community,” Bunsey said.

The students composed a survey on biking habits with a particular focus on safety. When the group started brainstorming about how it could contribute to improving biking in Lakewood, the group came up with a focus on trying to get more kids to wear helmets when biking, so many of the questions dealt with finding out why kids don’t wear helmets and what might convince them to put them on more.

The survey was posted on the district web site as well as all the individual schools’ web pages. More than 1,500 students responded to the survey.

The students also plan on getting the word out about bicycle and helmet safety by producing a public service announcement or PSA video. Each student has been assigned an aspect of bicycle safety and has done research on his or her subject to include in the video. One delved into head traumas to illustrate what can happen if you don’t wear your helmet and a crash occurs, one researched the biking ordinances in Lakewood and the rules of the road, etc.

The group also plans to tap into expert resources in the community to help it shape the message for the video. The students hope to speak with the bike specialists at Lakewood’s Spin bike shop, a neurosurgeon at Lakewood Hospital regarding brain injuries and cycling enthusiasts who regularly bike through Lakewood. The group then hopes to synthesize all the great information it gathers into a compelling PSA video that can be shared with other students and the community.

For the students, the project has taught them how to use 21st century skills such as Internet research and using multi-media tools to convey information. But what they might have most learned is that they have a message that is worth being heard and can make a difference with their peers and in their community.

Summarized group member Noah Stadler, “I like the idea that younger kids can have influence.”