Monday, August 10 found BikeTexas staff member Brenda Chuleewah at Forest Ridge Elementary in College Station, ready to promote bike safety education! Bobbi Brooks, Project Coordinator for the Brazos Valley Injury Prevention Coalition, had requested a Texas SuperCyclist Certification Training for herself and other coalition members. The coalition, located in College Station, is made up of concerned citizens, parents, caregivers, medical providers, educators, and safety experts joining together to reduce preventable injuries and deaths in our community. In addition to traffic safety, they address fire safety, gun safety, water safety and general child safety. The SuperCyclist training was a good fit for this group and for Injury Prevention Coalitions all over Texas. Coalition members who attended were Cindy Giedraitis, Myrna Hill, Jimmy Morgan, Bev Kellner, and Bobbi Brooks.
The coalition members are involved with the local bicycle rodeos and health fairs, so they are in a good position to share the bicycle safety lessons that the Texas SuperCyclist Program teaches. The Forest Ridge Physical Education teacher, Todd Good, also attended the training. He was a great host and enthusiastic trainee.
Sarah Korpita, a City of Navasota Parks and Rec employee, attended as well. Parks and Recreation leaders are a great fit for the SuperCyclist training since they work with children after school and in the summer, and are able to spend longer slots of time with each child than the teachers in schools can.
Jason George from American Youth Works drove from Austin to attend the training. AYW works with at-risk youth. They link classroom education with service projects that address real community needs. His first goal is to teach the students safe riding practices. He also wants to educate the students to learn bike mechanics and trail building, and to share all these skills with the community that they live in.
The SuperCyclist field instructor was Susan Wagner. She is a professor of Curriculum and Instruction at A&M University and will be a good bicycle safety resource for the trainees. She has been involved in the SuperCyclist Program since its inception in 1999.
BikeTexas staff member Brenda Chuleewah coordinated the training, brought the supplies and assisted in the training.
