Of the nearly 422,000 public school children in Chicago, about 90 percent walk to school. So do a substantial number of private and parochial students. To further encourage walking, and to ensure the safety of students who do, the City of Chicago is launching a Walking School Bus program. It is a small group of students who are accompanied by one or more adults on their walks to and from school. Typically, the students live near one another.
Chances are, they already walk to school, with or without adult supervision.
The benefit of the Walking School Bus is that it provides a consistent, supervised system in which children can walk under the watchful eye of an adult usually the parent or care giver of one of the students. It increases safe passage of students who already walk. It encourages additional students to walk, introducing them to an important and easy form of exercise. It strengthens communities by getting people parents and students in particular to work together for a common good. It introduces children to an increasing number of caring adults.