Blog written by: Bike Educator Laura D.

New partnership between BikePGH and the Environmental Charter School

“Left tuuuuuurrrrnnnnnnnnnn,” I heard in a sing-songy chorus as I biked around PNC park. Following me were 15 middle schoolers, ensuring their signals were heard as we biked towards the Fort Duquesne Bridge. My co-bike educators, one wearing shark-fin helmet, the other with a pack pull of snacks, and I were leading this group around the North Shore for one of our daily rides at Positive Spin.

Thanks to a new partnership between BikePGH and the Environmental Charter School (ECS), you can look forward to seeing another group of middle schoolers and bike educators spinning around Pittsburgh, as Positive Spin expanded to ECS this Spring!

Positive Spin: Middle Schoolers are Powerful

BikePGH’s Positive Spin youth cycling program is currently implemented at several schools in Pittsburgh. This program was originally founded in 2010 as a program of MGR Youth Empowerment and was adapted by BikePGH in 2015 as a core program area.

Biking has always been a passion of mine, but it is an entirely new and incredible experience biking with middle school students around the city of Pittsburgh with Positive Spin. In addition to learning the hard skills of leading large group rides, and how to teach a 12 year old how to ride a bike in 2 days (it requires an occasional bandaid and a lot of encouragement), I also learn the power of a youth cycling program.

As an educator and school counselor, I know the barriers that middle schoolers face while coming into their own identity and building the confidence to take on challenges, as well as the gaps in opportunities that many of our students experience in and outside of the classroom. Positive Spin takes the unique angle by providing students with the opportunity to join this youth cycling program that focuses on the power of positivity and the core mindset that middle schoolers can.

What happens when you teach students how to ride, ride safely as a group, signal, conquer steep hills, and fix a flat?  Students quickly learn about goal-setting, teamwork, and perseverance. Most importantly, they are empowered to take on these challenges and seek out more opportunities.

One of many powerful stories that comes to mind is when one of students finished our culminating 50 mile ride along the Great Allegheny Passage back to the North Shore just 5 weeks after getting on the bike for the first time. The grit she displayed that summer, and her smile near the end crossing the Hot Metal Bridge, are things I will never forget.  

I learned that students who participate in Positive Spin increase their confidence and find their strengths. Students at their age often hide from strong feelings, but I watch them totally surrender to the pure joy that being on a bicycle brings. I learned that if you give a middle schooler a bike and some positivity, you’ll be amazed at how far they can go.

The New Partnership: BikePGH & ECS

The Environmental Charter School, a tuition-free public charter school in Pittsburgh, located just on the east edge of Frick Park emphasizes out-the-door education as a core component of the school and seeks to serve the whole child -by keeping students healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged. Having a biking program at ECS aligns with many aspects of our school’s mission, and has been a dream of many of our staff members, parents, and students for years.

Thanks to the support of the Education Program at BikePGH this Spring, this dream is becoming a reality! When a BikePGH-ECS partnership was proposed to Julie Mallis, the Education Program Manager of BIkePGH, they welcomed the opportunity with open arms. BikePGH has lent ECS its very first fleet of bikes this Spring to get the program started. Julie Mallis and DeVaughn Rogers, both Positive Spin powerhouses, supported ECS staff, parents, and community members with a training to become bike educators at ECS. BikePGH also connected us with resources to get our basic supplies and provided us with the well-established Positive Spin curriculum (now turned toolkit!) 

Expansion: Growing BikeECS

Thanks to this generous partnership, ECS has started the program in 7th grade Physical Education classes as well as a middle school afterschool club this Spring. The program as a whole, referred to as BikeECS, has been fully supported by stakeholders in our ECS community. We were awarded a grant from our Parent Community Organization to buy helmets and other safety supplies, and our administration has been on board with every step. Additionally, the Sustainability Team and Physical Education Teams have both been instrumental in assisting with logistics to increase students’ time outdoors and on bikes. Our BikeECS planning team now consists of staff members, parents, community members, and student ambassadors. The Positive Spin program at ECS is currently reaching over 50 middle school students this Spring in our pilot season!

We hope to continue the momentum next fall with a larger club, more classes, and opportunities for even more of our middle school students. As ECS expands to a 3rd building in the fall of 2019, we hope to incorporate more of the civic advocacy and community engagement components of the Positive Spin program, which aligns with ECS’s vision of graduating actively engaged citizens driving thoughtful change in the world around them.

As we expand our Bike program at ECS, we plan to keep a close partnership with BikePGH to continue spinning the wheels of Positive Spin for our amazing students in this beautiful city.

Follow us on instagram @BikePGH and @BikeECS to see where we go next.
For more information or to get involved- email BikeECS@ecspgh.org

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