A Morning Walk, a Breath of Fresh Air and a Whole Lot of Fun at Madison Elementary

The morning commute to Madison Elementary School on Wednesday looked a little different. There were colorful backpacks, bikes, scooters and sneakers, along with a police motorcycle escort and a small army of enthusiastic children.

And nobody seemed to mind the traffic.

Students, parents, teachers and community leaders gathered at Villa Park Community Center before walking together to Madison Elementary for National Walk, Bike and Roll to School Day, celebrated alongside California Clean Air Day.

The morning sunshine filtered through neighborhood trees along Ashtabula Street, as the cheerful procession made its way to campus, where breakfast, firefighters, police officers and a collection of community organizations awaited.

For Madison Principal Dr. Elisa Perez, the morning was about much more than getting to school without a car.

“It promotes being healthy. It promotes being safe,” Perez said. “It’s always safer to walk together as a group.”

She added, “We are also proud to be a community school where we focus on coming together as a community.”

At the school, children gathered around Pasadena police motorcycles, admired a bright red fire engine and donned miniature firefighter helmets. Others visited information tables or enjoyed breakfast with their families.

Ana Maria “Ria” Apodaca, Pasadena Unified School District’s director of health programs, greeted the students with a question.

“Raise your hand if you participated on the walk all the way from the park or even we picked you up along the way.”

Hands shot up.

“Woo-hoo, look at all those hands,” she exclaimed.

The celebration brought together Pasadena Unified officials, school board members and representatives from the city’s police, fire, transportation, public health and library departments, along with community partners.

Pasadena Police Lt. Matt Campeau, who oversees the department’s traffic section, said motorcycle officers helped protect the walkers by blocking intersections and reminding motorists to slow down.

“Our job is to make sure the drivers obviously recognize the students walking to school and the parents and teachers,” Campo said.

The morning also offered a few practical lessons. Pasadena Firefighter Alden reminded children to look both ways before crossing streets and to find an adult in an emergency.

By the time the festivities wound down, the students had enjoyed breakfast, visited with first responders and learned a little about cleaner air and safer streets.

Perez sent them off with a cheerful farewell.

“Have a wonderful day, Eagles,” she said.

And with that, it was time for class.