A First-in-the-Nation Partnership

I tapped into my local newspaper yesterday and saw a detail that had me exclaiming, "Well, wouldja' look at that!" Turns out Dr. Crawford Lewis, the Superintentendent of my county's school system, delivered a speech this past Saturday (when I was at a party at my local chocolatier's!) that included mention of the school system's partnership with the Clean Air Campaign. Apparently, it is the most comprehensive, "first-in-the-nation" partnership between a school system and a state-wide non-profit dedicated to motivating its state's residents and businesses to take action to improve air quality and reduce traffic congestion.

So I called the Clean Air Campaign and reached the Director of Programs and Employee Services, Michael Williams. He told me that the Clean Air Campaign's program with Dekalb County offers $3 per day to teachers for using commute alternatives such as biking, walking, or carpooling to work. Additionally, employees for whom it makes sense will be encouraged to telecommute. And "school pool" carpool matching will encourage parents to carpool when dropping off kids, reducing car congestion and pollution.

Additionally, the Clean Air Campaign offers free expert consulting services and approved curriculums for grades 4 through 8. It also has an anti-idling campaign, and my goodness, folks can idle all day long here in Atlanta. I've seen parents sit in idling cars for over an hour, especially in the heat of summer while their children are concluding their eight solid hours at an outdoor camp, just keeping cool and chatting on the cellphone.

In addition to this new partnership, the Dekalb County school system also has the first and only sugar-free school in the United States. There is hope, my friends. There is hope. We'll get included in that Organic Gardening list of "cities going green" yet!

I wrote a whole slew of things about commute alternatives for the Atlanta Regional Commission (an organization that works with other community partners, such as the Clean Air Campaign, to maintain and improve Atlanta's quality of life) about 12 years ago, including materials that encouraged commute options during the 1996 Olympics here in Atlanta. At the time, talk of such things was pretty new. I asked Mr. Williams how Atlanta businesses have embraced commute alternatives since then. Turns out:

1000 employers in Atlanta (with at least 100 employees each) have officially signed partnerships with the Clean Air Campaign.

This means they offer commute alternative options to their employees, which, when utilized, reduce traffic congestion, improve air quality, potentially improve their employee's health and often serve as a recruitment and retention tool.

So, back to the schools. If this partnership is voluntary, it requires a champion at each school. And frankly, at my children's overcrowded, over-tested schools, I'm not sure what will come of it. But I know that the crossing guard (who also works in my favorite health food store) almost got hit the other morning by a parent racing through traffic. And I witnessed a car in the carpool lane do a series of unsafe, downright rude things just yesterday morning, illustrating even more the breakdown in civility that is happening here in Atlanta. So I already put a call in to the PTA president. And I continue to do what I think I do best. Hope. (And think of catchy tag lines for the campaign!)

Wait--one final thought. What is the deal with us parents driving our kids to school anyway? There was absolutely no such thing as a car drop-off lane outside a school when I was a kid. You either took the bus, walked or rode your bike. Period. What on earth has happened to us?

A First-in-the-Nation Partnership