Working Together on Pedestrian Safety

Dear CUHSD Families,

Last month, the tragic news of an elementary school student losing their life near school shook our community. Since then, there has been increased attention on prioritizing pedestrian safety on crosswalks across the city, including near our high schools.

Unfortunately, this has not been enough. 

Just last week, one of our very own students was riding his bicycle home from school when he was sideswiped by a driver at a crosswalk. Luckily the student sustained no major injuries.

Every day, CUHSD Administrators and Campus Supervisors do their best to safeguard students and direct traffic to avoid accidents like these, but they can not do it alone. Our students need community support to make safer routes to school a reality. It is for this reason that I write to you today.

I ask that you:

• Speak with your teen drivers about the importance of pedestrian safety
• Drive safely and limit the speed of travel when driving through a school zone, especially before and after school
• Always look out for pedestrians when approaching an intersection, especially in school zones
• Make eye contact with pedestrians and/or drivers before entering a crosswalk

Together, we can make a difference to prioritize pedestrian safety among our community and help keep it a priority across the cities that serve our students. 

For more information on what the City of San Jose is doing to improve pedestrian safety, please visit the San Jose Police Department’s School Safety and Education webpage and the San Jose Vision Zero webpage. For more information on what the City of Saratoga is doing to improve pedestrian safety, visit the Saratoga Safe Routes to School website.

Sincerely,

Robert Bravo, Ed.D.

Superintendent