City of Boston
Thomas M. Menino, Mayor

Youth Cycling Program

Host School Requirements

In order to host our program at your school, there will need to be 1–2 coordinators or sponsors from the school who will commit to working with us to iron out all the details needed for our visit. This person will:

  • Establish support for the program from the school principal and fellow teachers. Introduce bicycle staff to principal and school nurse on first day.
  • Create a schedule for our visit. This may be your own schedule, or you may work with other teachers/the principal to create a schedule. We seek to work with as many students as possible and have our days full. We are not able to go to schools with large schedule gaps. Each class should have the bike program 3–4 times during our visit.
  • Distribute waivers to students ahead of time so that they can participate in our program.
  • Find a secure lockable bicycle storage space at the school for about 30 bikes, preferably on the ground floor.
  • Ensure that there is always a teacher with the group of students who are biking.
  • Ensure that there is an appropriate and available place nearby to ride – either a playground blacktop, paths, closed off parking lot, park, etc.

Need to Know Logistics & Other Important Information

  • Schedule: The filled schedule should be submitted no less than two weeks before the start of our visit.
  • Delivery of the bikes usually happens on either the Friday prior to the start of our visit or on our first day.
  • Waivers: Anyone that participates in our program needs a signed waiver. Without a waiver, the student cannot ride but can participate in class discussions and activities off the bike. Teachers should collect and track completed waivers to know who can ride and should give the completed waivers to one of the instructors by the end of the program.
  • Weather: We follow the teacher’s lead when determining weather cancellations. This discussion needs to happen directly with the teaching team, proactively in advance of expected adverse weather. For our part, we don’t mind teaching in the rain or drizzle if it is safe and your students don’t mind. For the occasional rainy day, we have a menu of indoor activities we can do, but we need your full support for these days – having you actively engaged in the activities and not presenting them as “filler” activities.
  • Emergencies & First Aid: Our staff is not responsible for responding to any emergencies that occur (that’s why a teacher or authorized staff member must always be present with the students on bikes). Teachers should be prepared in the case of a bike crash and know the school protocol to follow, especially in the case of riding away from the school/not in the school yard. The instructors will have first aid kits on their bikes if riding away from a school, but the teacher should be prepared to administer first aid, be in contact with the school, or emergency services if needed. For classes that are riding away from the school, we suggest that the teacher carries the waivers (which has parent contact and medical information) for the students. Teachers are responsible for notifying the school nurse, parents, and principal of any accidents or situations that occur.
  • Roles: Our staff will serve as the bicycle experts and ask that you help with behavior management, especially during the first day workshop.
  • Misc: The first day we see a group of students we present an interactive classroom-based workshop and ask that it happens in a classroom (as opposed to a gym or outdoors) if at all possible. We can also serve your school’s afterschool program if it helps us reach new students we don’t see during the day.

I’m interested, I want to host the program at my school, now what?

Our Spring 2013 schedule is full. If you’d like to be put on the wait list or be contacted about Fall 2013 information, please complete this Spring 2013 YCP Application and return it to rollitforward@gmail.com.

Teacher Downloads/Links:

We really want your students to continue riding bikes after our program.

Please direct your students to the following resources for more opportunities to ride bikes!

for_teachers_featured

Did you know?

People have taken over 650,000 trips on the New Balance Hubway bike share system since July 2011. Learn why it’s so popular and see membership options at www.thehubway.com

Design and web development provided by Hifinit Design Group... a 100% commute-by-bike office! Questions or Feedback?