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              Michigan’s                                                      E-New sletter
 Issue
   26
          December, 2009


    In This Issue:                                              For More Information Contact:
          SR2S Annual Meeting-Register Now!                     Rosie Stern
                                                                Safe Routes to School Program Coordinator
          School Bus Cuts and SR2S                              P.O. Box 27187
          Making Routes Safe For Students with                  Lansing, MI 48909
          Disabilities                                          Phone: (517) 908-3828
                                                                Fax: (517) 347-8145
          Invitation to Submit Photos                           rstern@michiganfitness.org

          Geotagging: It’s the Hot New Thing!
          Local Feature: Grand Blanc
          Upcoming Events


Dear Safe Routes to School Program Coordinators and Friends,
Here’s what’s crossed Michigan’s Safe Routes to School news desk lately!
SR2S Annual Meeting-Register Now!
You are invited to attend the Safe Routes to School State Coalition Annual Meeting in Lansing on Wednesday,
January 27th, 2010. The meeting will feature general sessions and breakout workshops on these topics:
         Safe Routes to School partnerships
         Advocacy and resources
         Walking school buses and bike trains
         Safe Routes to School for students with disabilities
         Youth engagement with Make Trax
   Register online today at www.saferoutesmichigan.org/annualmeeting2010.htm.

School Bus Cuts and SR2S
School districts across the country are struggling to balance budgets and save money. The Safe Routes to School
National Partnership has developed a series of resources to help communities with student safety in the wake of
school bus service cuts. Resources can be accessed through the Safe Routes to School National Partnership Web
site at www.saferoutespartnership.org.

Making Routes Safe for Students with Disabilities
Effectively Planning and Implementing Safe Routes to School for Students with Disabilities, a white paper
developed in Michigan, helps parents, school administrators, special educators, and others understand how Safe
Routes to School education, encouragement, enforcement, engineering, and evaluation activities benefit children
with disabilities. The paper will be presented at our January 27, 2010 Safe Routes to School State Coalition Annual
Meeting and available on our Web site soon thereafter.



Local Feature: Grand Blanc
Congratulations to the Safe Routes to School team at Grand Blanc East for demonstrating how problem solving and
with disabilities. The paper will be presented at our January 27, 2010 Safe Routes to School State Coalition Annual
Meeting and available on our Web site soon thereafter.



Local Feature: Grand Blanc
Congratulations to the Safe Routes to School team at Grand Blanc East for demonstrating how problem solving and
persistence pays off! Property owners of a large apartment complex recently agreed to an easement allowing for the
construction of a new six-foot-wide sidewalk leading from the apartment complex to Grand Blanc East Middle
School. The City Council worked with the property owners to reach an agreement where the pathway would be
installed. “The sidewalks will make walking possible for students who couldn’t walk in the past,” said Frankie
Millstead, East Middle School’s Safe Routes to School Program Coordinator who worked with city officials to help
reach the agreement.

Invitation to Submit Photos
Interested in sharing pictures of you school’s Safe Rotes to School events? Submit your photos and we'll post them
in our Safe Routes to School e-newsletter! Each photo should be submitted with a short phrase describing the
event. We will post up to three photos per school. Please note that when you submit photos, you are giving
permission to allow their use for promotional purposes, educational activities and in response to media requests,
and you are acknowledging that all necessary permissions have been obtained. Look for the photo submission form
on our Web site by mid-January.


Geotagging: It’s the Hot New Thing!
Geotagging, the process of adding geographical identification to photographs, video or websites, can assist your
community in completing walking and bicycling audit maps that display location-specific information. Using a
smartphone (e.g. iPhone, Black Berry etc.), you can shoot photos, download them to your computer and they will be
displayed on a Google map pinpointing the exact location of the photo. If you don’t have a smartphone you can sign
up for certain types of memory card service subscriptions that embed information on your photos. Mapping activities
like geotagging are included in Make Trax, Michigan’s new Safe Routes to School youth engagement curriculum. If
you would like a copy of Make Trax mailed to you at no charge please contact our office.

Other Upcoming Events
The 2010 Safe Routes to School regional training schedule is in development. Stay tuned to the Safe Routes to
School website for dates, specific locations, and details as they become available. Here’s where we plan to be this
spring:
Early March, Southeast Michigan
Mid-March, West Michigan
April, Northern Michigan

SR2S Basics is a 60-minute conference call training that will help you understand how Safe Routes to School works
in Michigan. Registration through our Web site is required.

SR2S Basics Conference Call Training Schedule
Wednesday, January 20-10:00am
Thursday, February 18-3:00pm
Tuesday, March 23-10:00am
Thursday, April 22-3:00pm
Wednesday, May 19-10:00am
Register online or contact Mary Grill at mgrill@michiganfitness.org, (517) 908-3832.