Biking as part of the curriculum

Columbia Secondary School in Harlem and Public School 76 in the Bronx are two of a handful of schools in New York City that offer bike riding as part of the physical education curriculum, J. David Goodman reports in the "Spokes" column in The New York Times.

The article says:

"... it was precisely for safety reasons that one principal, Louise Sedotto at Public School 76 in the Bronx, pushed to get cycling taught at her school. After a 10-year-old student was struck and killed by a car while riding his bike after school in June 2009, Ms. Sedotto bought helmets for all of her 1,100 students, she said, and began teaching bike riding in gym. 'It gives us a chance to teach about bike safety,' she said.

"Unable to afford to buy and maintain a fleet of bikes, P.S. 76 reached out to Bike New York, a nonprofit organization that has recently been leading the two-wheeled charge to get bike riding taught in school.

“'There’s really a movement within the physical education world to teach lifetime fitness skills, so that’s how it got started,' said Rich Conroy, education programs director at Bike New York."

"At Columbia Secondary, a four-year-old selective school that bought its own fleet of bikes when it opened, classes also include a little cycling appreciation. 'Before they ever get on a bike, we talk about the benefits of cycling,' said Dee Martin, who taught Delsa [Jacqueline Lopez, age 11,] to ride and runs the cycling program at the school with another teacher, Paul Thomson."