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The Montgomery County Board has canceled the Walk to School Day due to recent student fatalities involving vehicles.
KENSINGTON, Md. — The Montgomery County Board of Education on Thursday declined to approve the district’s annual National Walk to School Day celebration out of deference to what officials described as recent tragic events in which young people were killed by vehicles.
The move comes less than a week after a 16-year-old was struck and killed by a vehicle a few blocks away from Albert Einstein High School in Kensington.
Police are still investigating the crash that took the life of James Evert Anderson in the area of University Boulevard West and St. Paul Street.
“All of our school communities are heartbroken by the recent tragic incidents in which students have been injured or killed by vehicles in and around schools. We extend our deepest sympathy to the families, friends, classmates, and teachers who have and are experiencing these traumas and losses,” Superintendent of Schools Thomas Taylor said.
The superintendent said the board’s decision was “thoughtful” and that they wanted to focus on working together for safer streets.
He asked that the school community spend the day reflecting on pedestrian safety best practices.
Taylor also vowed to work with public safety agencies to that end.
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