Thousands of kids in Erie are about to start walking to school again.

Erie’s Public Schools is continuing its work to make that walk safer.

They said most of their students walk to school. 

“There is no higher priority for Erie’s Public Schools than ensuring the safety of our students,” Superintendent Natalyn Gibbs, Ph.D., said at a press conference Wednesday.

The obstacles for kids to get to school were problems the United Way identified years ago.

That’s when Erie’s Public Schools joined their community school program.

“When we conducted our initial needs assessments, we found one of the main barriers for students attending school on time and regularly was the challenges of just getting there,” said Mike Jaruszewicz, the United Way’s executive vice president.

Gibbs has only been on the job for a little more than a month.

She already has good things to say about the United Way’s help.

“This is a superintendent's best gift to have this particular partnership,” she said. 

Some Gannon students spent months walking through every block of the city to see if there were any hazards for students walking to school. 

They gave that information to the county, which made a map that shows there are about 10 thousand walking hazards.

“That ranges from intersections that didn’t have markings to broken sidewalks [to] dangerous properties,” he said. 

They used that information to find safer walking routes.

“We kind of prioritized the safest parts of those school catchment areas and created those safer walking routes,” he said. 

But their work isn’t done yet. Signs will be put up so students can easily find these routes.

Gibbs wants people to do their part, too. She wants them to keep their sidewalks clear and property safe, so students can get to class.