BIKE SAFETY AT MADISON MIDDLE SCHOOL

Madison Middle School recently hosted a bike safety event for its special education classes, which included a special surprise for each student. The event was conducted in partnership with Scripps Health and was hosted by Paige Colburn-Hargis, Trauma Injury Prevention Coordinator for Scripps Memorial Hospital, La Jolla.

During the presentation, Colburn-Hargis taught students the importance of wearing helmets and how they protect our brains, as well as safety rules, riding techniques, and awareness when cycling on roads. 

The subject of helmet safety is deeply personal to Colburn-Hargis. “As a parent of a child who suffered a severe traumatic brain injury while skateboarding without a helmet, I have witnessed firsthand the devastating and long-term effects that head injuries can have on a person's life.

“Although my child has made an incredible recovery, the journey has not been easy, and the impact of the injury, including a seizure disorder, continues to affect our family.”

Educating Communities About Bike Safety 

The experience inspired Colburn-Hargis to create a non-profit named ‘My Grey Matterz’, which raises awareness about the importance of head injury prevention, especially among young people, by teaching the critical role helmets play in protecting the brain.

The informative session at Madison also had a fun element, with each student being gifted a new helmet. The helmets were provided via a grant through Scripps Health. Colburn-Hargis helped every student fit their helmet correctly, after which she announced that students were free to decorate the helmets however they liked.

Grants Help Fund Materials & Education for Bike Safety
The bike safety event is a follow-up to a 2023 grant awarded to Madison providing the school with 8 bikes for the special needs department. 

Madison’s Principal, Andrew Walanski explains how the grant came about: “We have a great staff here who are very focused on inclusion and making sure that all students have access to what everyone does, whether that’s dances, field trips or sports. Last year, we started a Unified Sports Program and through that, one of our board members told us about a grant for a bike program called the ‘Inclusive Learn-to-Ride Program’.

“We applied because it fit into what we are already doing and trying to build on. We were awarded the grant and received the bikes at the end of last year.”

The nonprofit organization All Abilities Bike gave Madison Middle School 8 Strider balance bikes as part of the grant. The bikes also came with pedal kits, helmets, a curriculum with teacher training, and professional support for the life of the program, which is estimated at 7-10 years.

The All Abilities Bike ‘Inclusive Learn-to-Ride Program’ serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities by teaching them the skills of riding a bicycle. Although helmets were given as part of the grant, it was only one per bike and Walanski wanted each student to have their own helmet.

“Otherwise you have to deal with shower caps and hygiene issues,” he explains. “This way it’s easier and the kids get a level of ownership.”

Vista Unified Committed to Bike Safety
Taresa McSpadden, a Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA) for Vista Unified, is in charge of the district’s bike safety awareness and bike safety programs. She reached out to Scripps Health, who connected her with Colburn-Haggis.

“When I heard about the opportunity to partner with Madison Middle School, I knew it aligned perfectly with my mission to prevent head injuries and promote safer riding habits among students,” recalls Colburn-Haggis. “It was a chance to directly impact children at a pivotal age, and help them develop lifelong habits that could prevent serious injuries.”

Teachers at Madison complete online training provided by All Abilities Bike, demonstrating structured activities that help students learn skills and bike maintenance. Travis Deardurff is a special education teacher who has witnessed the impact of the Inclusive Learn-to-Ride Program. “The kids have used the bikes already, wearing helmets that came with them, and they’ve been pretty excited,” he says. 

“Learning to balance is a huge deal so these bikes will help them a lot. If we can start with that and give them that foundation it will eventually help them to get to where they can pedal.”

Building Capacity in Students
Students Travis and Tristan are biking twice a week during school as part of their PE class. They ride around the school track for distance and to build confidence, and are slowly learning balance skills to work towards fully pedaling and navigating.

“The goal is to bring our moderate and severe special education students up to the level where they get to go out into the community to learn functional and adaptive skills,” says Principal Walanski. “Then they will hopefully take a bike trip at some point.” 

The district hopes to work with Scripps to expand the program and opportunities to other schools.