Throughout the month of October, Sacramento residents will be lacing up their walking shoes to celebrate the October is Walking Month or “Walktober”. With cooler weather in the forecast, October is the perfect month to get out and walk to work, school, or replace a car trip with walking to an everyday destination.
Held on the second Wednesday of every October, Walk to School Day is an internationally recognized event to celebrate the benefits of active transportation by encouraging school children and their families to walk, bike, and roll to school.
Walk to School Day events are part of a larger Safe Routes to School program at schools that seeks to increase the number of students who walk and bike to school through encouragement programs as well as near-school safety improvements. Reducing the risk of injury to pedestrians includes teaching children age-appropriate walk and bicycle skills, reminding drivers to slow down in school zones, and identifying hazardous conditions along routes to school that need to be improved. In addition, Walk to School activities can help children achieve the minimum of 60 minutes of physical activity on most days of the week as recommended by the U.S. Surgeon General.
WALKSacramento has been overseeing Safe Routes to School programs in the Sacramento Region for over 15 years and has recently expanded to new schools for the second year in a row in Sacramento City Unified School District and Washington Unified School District. Several of the schools in these districts will be celebrating their very first Walk to School Day event this year.
More students walking and biking to school means healthier students who are ready to learn, safer streets, and renewed pressure on cities and counties to commit to making transportation safety a priority. For the benefit of our health, environment, and economy, creating a culture of safe, active transportation within our schools is critical to Sacramento’s future. – Kirin
Although October 10th is the official day of recognition, dozens of schools in the Sacramento Region will celebrate events throughout the month of October:
For more information on events, contact Molly Wagner, mwagner@walksacramento.org unless otherwise indicated.
Twin Rivers Unified School District
- Foot Hill Farms Middle School, Date TBD
Sacramento City Unified School District
- Parkway Elementary, October 10, 2018
- Contact Jamie Gomez Jamie-Gomez@scusd.edu for more information
- William Land Elementary, October 10, 2018
- Contact Sonya Hendren, sonyahendren@hotmail.com for more information
- Oak Ridge Elementary, October 11, 2018
- Nicholas Elementary, October 17, 2018
- Will C. Wood Middle, October 24, 2018
Washington Unified School District
- Bridgeway Island Elementary
- Contact Audrey Rabas, audreyrabas@gmail.com for more information
- Southport Elementary, October 16, 2018
- Riverbank Elementary, Date TBD
- Westfield Elementary, Date TBD
- Elkhorn Elementary, Date TBD
San Juan Unified School District
Elk Grove Unified School District
Natomas Unified School District / JIBE Natomas
If you are interested in participating in a WALKSacramento sponsored Walk to School Day event or hosting a Walk to School Day event at your school, please contact Molly Wagner, mwagner@walksacramento.org for more information.
Download our Walk to School Day Event planning guide!