Forty-three pumped-up elementary school PE teachers gathered at Ramona Bang Elementary School in the Cypress-Fairbanks (Cy-Fair) ISD on June 4 for the Texas SuperCyclist Curriculum certification training. Up to 11,094 Cy-Fair elementary and middle school students stand to receive bike safety education in the coming school year, based on 2007 SuperCyclist survey results of average number of students taught by PE teachers actively implementing SuperCyclist lessons. (258 students per active teacher.)
The larger-than-usual size of enrollment in the SuperCyclist training was not a problem as Texas Bicycle Coalition contract SuperCyclist instructors, Regina Garza and KC Jones, moved through the classroom and active portions of the six-hour training, guiding the teachers through the key aspects of the 15-unit curriculum.
Texas Bicycle Coalition staff members Brenda Chuleewah and Mark Stine and Cy-Fair ISD PE Coordinator Loretta Bourn managed the logistics to keep the training on a smooth course.
The teachers jumped into the Hang-Tag, Seven-Rules, Decision Course, and Skills Course gym exercises, truly enjoying the rare chance to all come together from their schools and have a great time before heading off to their summer lives. With their SuperCyclist certification, they also carry off six continuing-education credits for their professional development.
Having fun is, of course, a key objective of the SuperCyclist Curriculum – kids learn bike safety more effectively through games and other physical activities. But teachers didn’t forget that behind the fun and laughter was a very serious note: this SuperCyclist training was the first of three scheduled in the next four months for the Cy-Fair ISD in the wake of the deaths of two Cy-Fair ISD students while riding bikes in the last 18 months.
In January of this year, Peter Wang, League Certified Instructor (LCI) and active member of both the Northwest Cycling Club and Texas Bicycle Coalition, addressed the Cy-Fair ISD Board (click here for Houston Chronicle article) to outline important steps to increase bike safety, including the recommendation of the Texas SuperCyclist Teacher Training available at no cost to the schools.
Texas Bicycle Coalition receives funding for the SuperCyclist program through National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) “pass-through” funds administered by the Traffic Safety Division of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT.)
Cy-Fair PE Coordinator Bourn later sent the following kind words.
“The presenters did an outstanding job. [They] were well-prepared, knowledgeable and articulate. The pacing between seated and active components of the training served to keep participants interested, engaged and involved. Thank you for providing a curriculum and trainers for bicycle safety. I look forward to the two remaining training sessions we have scheduled.”
Attending teachers were Joe Britten, Jon Kram, Tiffany Engelking, Christina Gates, Thomas Solback, Jessica Fanucchi, Debra Wolfe, Laurie Murtagh, Julie Elder, Suzanne Stephens, Sue Simpson, Cindy Culp, Jana Johnston, Alane Williams, Lindsey Craig, Tanya Skarpa, Paul Bygness, Scott Christensen, Vikki Longmire, Timothy Burke, Kori Neven, Lindsey Gray, Cherie Ward, Deanna Napier, Jeannie Schaennagel, Sandra Burns, Latosha Simpson, Kimberly Lewis-Fontenot, Laura Jungkurta, Laurie Carr, Kim Kubicek, Anne Rick, Wendy Montgomery, Kim George, Carol Reeves, Ashley Dupree, Crystal Vest, Lynnette Redford, Janie Brooks, Martha Easterly, Bernadine Woodruff, Dana Marquart, and Linda Williams.
