• Villaraigosa Plan
• Public Safety & Homeland Security
  • 1,000 New Cops
  • Gang Reduction Strategy
  • Protecting Against Disaster
• Traffic & Transportation
  • Investing in Transit
  • Efficient and Safe Roads
  • Safe, Regional and Modern Airports
• Education, Youth & Families
  • Partnership for LA Schools
  • Schoolhouse Framework
• Energy & Environment
  • Combating Climate Change
  • Growing and Greening the Port
  • Greenest and Cleanest Big City
  • Green Building
• Economic Development
  • Major Development Projects
  • Good Paying Jobs
  • Growing a Global Capital
• Fiscal Responsibility & Management
  • Sound Budgeting
  • Strong Management

Walking School Bus

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE           March 26, 2008

MAYOR VILLARAIGOSA, PARENTS FORM ‘WALKING SCHOOL BUS’ TO PROTECT KIDS IN AREA IMPACTED BY GANG VIOLENCE

School safety program will create a safe zone for young children walking to and from Griffith Joyner Elementary School in Watts

LOS ANGELES – Creating a safe passage for young students walking to and from school in a neighborhood that has seen a series of gang-related incidents in recent months, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa today joined dozens of children, parents and members of the Watts Gang Task Force to launch the Kid Watch LA “Walking School Bus” at Florence Griffith Joyner Elementary School in Watts.

The Walking School Bus enlists parent and community volunteers to accompany groups of small children as they walk to school. Parents drop their children off at assigned "bus stop" meeting points, from which the groups of children and volunteers then walk to school together.

While creating a safe passage for students sometimes crossing gang territory or busy intersections, the program also focuses on increasing parental involvement, community participation and volunteerism in Watts.

“No parent should ever fear for their child’s safety on their way to an education. With the Walking School Bus, we all have an opportunity to get involved and protect our kids as they strive for a better future,” Mayor Villaraigosa said.

“Flo Jo” Elementary is the second school in LAUSD to introduce the program, following its November 2007 launch at Murchison Street Elementary School near Romona Gardens housing project in Boyle Heights.

The Walking School Bus is part of a larger Kid Watch LA program coordinated by the City's Commission for Children, Youth and Their Families (CCYF), which works with the Mayor’s Office, Los Angeles Unified School District, the police department, City departments and community-based efforts to create safe environments for Los Angeles children.

Kid Watch LA has three major components:

• Kid Watch Safety Valet: Currently operating in 130 schools, this program creates a safe point for students to be dropped off or picked up from school by car in the mornings and afternoons. Volunteers open car doors, direct traffic and encourage the continuous flow of traffic in and around the valet area.

• Kid Watch Guardian: Volunteers are parents and community residents who commit to physically watching over children during the immediate before and after school hours as they move to and from school. Guardians are strategically placed around the school perimeter and throughout the neighborhood along previously identified “safe routes,” serving as a visual security presence, and a crime deterrent. They are trained to identify and report suspicious activity and crimes to LAPD or School Police, as well as respond with in limits to any emergency situations.

• Kid Watch Walking School Bus: Ensuring the safety of children as they walk to and from school, students are accompanied by parent and community volunteers along strategically identified “safe routes.”

For additional information on Kid Watch LA, contact the City's Commission for Children, Youth and Their Families at (213) 978-1841.