Engaging Students in Transportation Safety

What started as a simple idea – engaging students with some education on SEMCOG’s regional planning work – quickly became a meaningful, student-centered project. Our goal was to show that SEMCOG plans and data aren’t only tools for local governments; they can also be translated into engaging resources for young learners. Helping students connect with their communities through civic learning is one of the best ways to build awareness and responsibility early.

For years, SEMCOG asked the question: how can we make our planning work accessible and useful in a K–12 setting? Many of our plans are detailed and technical by design, so we needed a starting point that felt immediate and relevant to students’ everyday lives. We landed on something every child should understand—how to stay safe while walking to school. Over several months, our team met regularly, tested ideas, and developed an activity worksheet that makes safety lessons both fun and memorable.

10 key rules students can follow to stay safe on their way to and from school

The finished worksheet highlights 10 key rules students can follow to stay safe on their way to and from school. To reinforce those rules, it also includes a word search using the same safety keywords. The repetition is intentional: seeing the terms, hearing the message, and finding the words helps students remember the guidance—and makes it easier to put into practice in real situations. The importance of the worksheet is to make sure students are aware of the dangers of walking to school. In 2024, the highest number of pedestrian-involved crashes occurred during October with 225. Of all pedestrian actions prior to a crash, “not crossing at an intersection” was the deadliest, accounting for 53 of the pedestrian fatalities. (UMTRI, Crash Facts, 2024)

Taking the worksheet to South Redford School District

I also had the opportunity to take the worksheet into classrooms in the South Redford School District to see how it worked with students. At Jane Addams Elementary, I visited a third-grade class that was excited to participate and clearly enjoyed the activity. At the same time, we learned an important lesson: we needed to test it with a slightly older group as well. Next, at Jefferson Elementary, I worked with a fourth-grade class—and the activity clicked even more. More students in that grade walked to school, and they connected the worksheet to their own experiences and routines.

Looking back, I genuinely enjoyed talking with students about pedestrian safety, and I believe they walked away with information that could protect them—or someone around them. The next step is to share this worksheet with school districts across Southeast Michigan, expanding the impact beyond a single classroom. If this resource helps even one student make a safer choice on the walk to school, it will have been worth the effort.

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