Learning how to ride a bike is a milestone for many kids, but the price of a bike, road safety concerns and parents’ schedules can all be barriers.
At Perry Elementary School in Paradise Hills, students are learning how to ride a bike in P.E. class. On a recent Tuesday morning, transitional kindergarten students sat next to small, white bikes.
“We had some people last week that were going through the stop sign,” P.E. teacher Robbie DePerro told them. “We need to make sure that we come to a complete stop. And I want you guys looking both ways, just like we practiced.”
He makes sure everyone’s helmets fit properly and their seats are at the right height. Then everyone walks their bikes out to the blacktop.
They start with a game of "red light, green light." When DePerro says “green light,” the students sit on their bikes and use their feet to push themselves forward.
Unlike other kids’ bikes, Strider bikes don’t have training wheels, just footrests. Pedals will be added later. Along with balance, the course teaches students about spatial awareness and controlling their speed.
“What I love about these Strider bikes is it really gets them coordinated and ready,” DePerro said. “They learn how to balance themselves a lot quicker, in my opinion.”
In 1972, the Federal Highway Administration reported that 42% of school-aged kids walked or biked to school. In 2017, 10% did.
There’s another, more recent change DePerro has noticed among his TK, kindergarten and first grade students.
“One alarming thing is a lot of them are riding e-bikes, which is a new thing the last couple of years,” he said.
Week one of the curriculum focuses on helmet safety. DePerro also reminds students that most e-bikes are meant for kids 12 and up. He sent a letter home to parents about e-bike safety.
DePerro also asks kids whether they have bikes at home. This year, less than 40% of them did.
Bringing bikes to schools makes them accessible to kids whose families might not be able to afford them, said Lisa Weyer, executive director of the Strider Education Foundation.
“Parents might not have the resources to teach their kids how to ride a bike at home because they're working two jobs or more,” she said. “There might not be the infrastructure. There might not be a bike path or a safe park where they can teach their kids how to ride.”
The All Kids Bike program comes with 24 Strider bikes, 24 helmets, a teacher bike and a rolling storage rack. It costs $9,000 per school and is meant to last up to 10 years.
Weyer says it’s usually paid for by a donor who wants to bring it to their local school. Parents sometimes crowdfund for the program.
In San Diego County, the program is at 12 schools across three districts. Seattle Public Schools offers the program at all of its elementary schools. North Dakota paid to bring the program to hundreds of the state’s elementary schools.
DePerro applied for a grant to pay for the program at his school. After COVID-19, he wanted to find a way to teach his students a childhood rite of passage, he said.
“I just loved riding bikes when I was a kid,” he said. “Our older classes here have the opportunity to learn how to swim. I'm a big proponent for learning how to swim and learning how to ride a bike as a kid. It's kind of one of those staple things.”
Learning how to ride a bike means learning resilience, he said.
“There is tears at times, and Band-Aids, but eventually they get it. And I really do try to create an environment where the kids feel safe and they can take risks,” he said. “I’m very proud of them.”
San Diego County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer and Scripps Health are hosting an e-bike safety webinar for parents on Tuesday. It starts at 6 p.m. on Zoom.
