Montgomery County officials and law enforcement will join students, staff and parents to celebrate Walk to School Day at Arcola Elementary School on October 2.

Walk to School Day is observed annually on the first Wednesday of October to raise awareness and support for health, community environmental benefits and safety, and to promote walking and biking to school. This will be the county’s 22nd year of participation in the national event. National Walk to School Day is sponsored by the National Center for Safe Routes to School.

Among those joining the Arcola Elementary school community will be Montgomery County Department of Transportation Deputy Director Chris Conklin and Traffic Division Chief Michael Paylor, and representatives from the Fire and Rescue Service, Montgomery County Police Department, Montgomery County Project SEARCH interns and the Park Police.

Note to editors: Starting at 8:30 a.m., volunteers will meet students at bus stops in the vicinity of the school and encourage them to join monitored walks to the school.

Arcola staff and community leaders will meet families at the morning bus stops on Blueridge, at University Towers and at Wexford Apartment buildings. The walk will begin at approximately 8:50 a.m. All students will have access to their assigned buses if desired. Students whose buses cross University Boulevard or Georgia Avenue will be met when they arrive at the school by staff members who will walk them around the property.

Car riders also will be met and walked around the school property; families are strongly encouraged to walk their students to school.

At 9:30 a.m., prekindergarten through second graders will gather outside of the school for a safety presentation with representatives of Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services. At 10 a.m., students in Grades 3-5 will assemble in the auditorium for a safety presentation and remarks.

Arcola Elementary School is located at 1820 Franwall Ave. in Silver Spring.

Schedule:

• 8:30 – 8:45 a.m.: Volunteers will be around the school with posters, stickers and giveaways to distribute to children as they walk to school.
• 8:30 a.m.: Volunteers will meet students at school bus stops to encourage them to walk to school. Departure time will be approximately 8:50 a.m. 
• 9:10 a.m.: Officials will greet children with giveaways as they arrive in front of the school.
• 9:30 a.m.: PreK-second graders will gather outside of the school for a safety presentation with Montgomery County Fire and Rescue.
• 10 a.m.: Grades 3-5 will assemble in the auditorium for a brief safety presentation and remarks.