Stevan Dohanos Elementary pilots bike lessons for kindergartners

LORAIN — Nearly two dozen kindergartners filled Stevan Dohanos Elementary School's gym, filing behind physical education teacher Lizz Sable on balance bicycles, gliding around a circle of cones. Sable encouraged students, but reminded them Tuesday's lesson was not a race — despite some of the more agile riders zipping around the room. It was the second week of the new bicycle lessons at the south side elementary school, one of two pilot programs in the district, Sable said, hopeful that the new program would teach the kids how to ride the bikes in eight weeks' time. "Like I told (students) last week, it's a lifelong skill," Sable said. "So when you turn 40 or 50, you'll still know how to ride a bike — it's a skill you're never going to lose." The balance bikes, part of a curriculum purchased from All Kids Bike, a national learn-to-ride program for phys-ed classes in schools, along with helmets and other supplies, are part of the school district and city's Safe Routes to School program through Lorain County Public Health. The pilot program at Dohanos and Palm elementary schools is paid for as part of a $100,000 federal Safe Routes to School grant. Safe Routes to School grants are awarded on two-year cycles, with the health department overseeing program and policy efforts that support students riding a bicycle or walking to school safely. The city also receives Safe Routes to School funds to help with infrastructure projects like sidewalk repairs, crosswalk or bike lane improvements. Teaching the new program has been fun, Sable said, with the first week focusing on getting the kids comfortable with striding and gliding with their bikes before they start to balance by picking their feet up. Eventually, Sable will add pedals to the bikes and students will learn how to ride the regular, 14-inch bikes. Kat Bray, population health strategist supervisor for Lorain County Public Health, said the idea for the in-school bike program came out of a conference staff from the school district and health department attended last fall. Palm and Dohanos elementaries were chosen by the district based on interest and staff capacity, she said. Families served by the south side schools may already rely on bikes to get around the city due to a lack of access to reliable vehicle transportation, and teaching kids to ride a bike safely at a young age can help them get to school, ride to a friend's house or attend summer programming. The goal, Sable said, is to eventually expand the program into all 10 elementary schools. "It unlocks so many healthy things for students," Bray said. "The impact could be far greater than we could ever measure." Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.