Educator Spotlight- Mindy Swedberg

Educator Spotlight

Walk N Roll works in a community of educators and advocates who bring bikes into the lives of youth. This month we celebrate Mindy Swedberg, Physical Education (PE) Specialist at McKenny Elementary. Mindy is teaching her 18th year as a PE Specialist.  She has worked in Olympia School District (OSD) for almost a decade, and this is the start of her 7th year at McKenny!  We asked her to share her story of building bike community.

Our Interview with Mindy

What was the spark that inspired you to prioritize bikes and bike education for your students? 

At a work conference, I learned that other PE teachers were bringing bikes into their curriculum.  The idea of integrating bike safety and education into our PE content at McKenny intrigued me, as we have a large percentage of walkers and riders at our neighborhood school.  After meeting with other local educators and picking the brains of folks at Walk N Roll and Cascade Bikes, I went for it!

We applied for a grant from State Farm to fund a Traffic Garden, and rallied community partners and parents to meet and design and build the traffic garden.  Neighbors and Walk N Roll donated bikes, the grant covered the cost of paint, and volunteers and OSD staff painted the streetscape.  The Traffic Garden opened with a community-centered Bike Rodeo!

How do you build connections between riding in PE and youth riding in their community?  

It has been critical for the bike education received by students in PE to transfer into real life applications, as SO many of our students bike and/or walk to school. I support the kids to be predictable riders and protect their precious brains by wearing helmets.

Almost every time a student rode by my house during our bike safety unit  this fall they shouted at me "I'm wearing my helmet!". Not only was it super cute, but it showed me that they know adults in their community will hold them accountable!

What was a recent moment of bike joy in your work? 

At McKenny, I have set a goal for our school that every graduating 4th and 5th grade student will leave McKenny knowing how to ride a bike.  Not only is it an important lifelong skill that opens up a world of opportunity for remaining physically active and healthy for tens of decades, it also opens up an avenue for students to be able to transport themselves into adulthood.  I have noticed that if students graduate from elementary school without learning how to ride a bike, the chances of them learning later in life are minimal.  So we have normalized that goal, and students know if they enter 4th grade without knowing how to ride they will get to spend special time during my breaks learning how to ride in non-intimidating 1-on-1 lessons.  

Over the last four years, more than 50 students have learned how to ride.  What a joy to walk through my neighborhood and get to see kids out biking with their friends because they were brave enough to learn how to ride!  I have seen 5th grade students learn how to ride in the fall, and then be able to spend the rest of the school year riding to school with friends- getting to be physically active and social in the mornings, setting themselves  up to be ready for the optimal learning that occurs when (as research shows) the brain is primed after activity to absorb information for the day!