There are some new rides rolling in at Dunsmore Elementary School.
All Kids Bike, a nonprofit organization with the mission of teaching every child in the United States to ride a bike, implemented its P.E. program at Dunsmore last week, thanks to a donation from HDR, a Los Angeles-based architecture and engineering firm.
Principal Kelly Worley said the elementary school feels “blessed” to have this program on its campus.
“The majority of our students live on hills and it is very difficult for them to learn how to ride a bike,” Worley said. “This is an incredible gift to our students and community. … HDR and All Kids Bike have given our students the ability to learn how to ride a bike, which will give them a lifetime of fun and adventure.”
Through the All Kids Bike program, Dunsmore received 24 balance bikes, pedal conversion kits, helmets, a teacher instruction bike, SHAPE-standard curriculum, teacher training and equipment storage racks.
On March 29, Dunsmore students eagerly awaited the reveal of a surprise their teachers said was coming. HDR representatives and Dunsmore staff hid the bikes under a rainbow parachute, leaving the kindergarteners guessing. After a suspense-building countdown, the parachute was lifted amid celebratory enthusiasm.
“When the members of HDR pulled off the big parachute, the students cheered with excitement when they saw the bikes,” Worley said. “They couldn’t wait to ride them.”
Nichole Buchholz from All Kids Bike explained that this program is built to last up to a decade of kindergarteners. The curriculum provided by All Kids Bikes includes eight lesson plans; the first six of which allow the children to get comfortable with balancing on a bike before they are converted to a standard pedal system.
The lessons are run at each school site that All Kids Bike supports. The timing of the lessons can be adjusted based on students’ current knowledge.
“Teachers can truly adapt these lessons to their own classroom, whatever works well for them,” Buchholz said.
A representative from HDR, Rebecca Veloso, emphasized the company’s dedication to providing impact grants to organizations that do good work within the community and also align with the firm’s expertise. Partnering with All Kids Bike, HDR donated $360,000 to the organization to implement bike programs into 40 schools across the country.
When scouting schools to choose, Dunsmore stuck out because of its location in Northern Glendale, Veloso said.
“In Northern Glendale, the streets are very windy and steep and there are a lot of hills, so it’s really hard to find a safe place to let your children ride a bike, let alone find a place to teach them to learn to ride a bike,” Veloso said.
The program is especially beneficial for working parents who may not always have the time to teach their children this skill, she added.
“As a working parent, you lean so much on teachers and on the school curriculum to help out in ways that you can’t, and this is one of those cherry-on-top skills that you wouldn’t typically learn at school,” she said.
HDR staff worked hands-on with the Dunsmore students, helping them buckle their helmets and guiding them through navigating the bikes last Friday.
This past week, Dunmore’s three kindergarten classes had their first official lessons on the balance bikes and Worley said everything was “extremely successful,” emphasizing the students’ excitement to continue learning more.
All Kids Bike currently has programs in 1,300 schools across the country, with 136,000 students learning how to ride a bike this year.
Buchholz expressed the organization’s gratitude for the support of HDR in spreading its mission.
“Having donors like HDR to champion for this program and to get the word out and truly get programs into schools across the country is amazing,” she said. “They’re really the ones that make this kind of magic happen.”
First published in the April 6 print issue of the Glendale News-Press.
