April 10, 2024 – Today at Ustick Elementary in Boise, Idaho, 3rd graders gather are ready to bolt out of the school door, jump on bikes and race around the school. But it won’t be a free-for-all. Today is the day they have been waiting for knowing there will be a pile of bikes, safety cones, bike helmets and Idaho’s newest 2024 Afterschool Champion – Lisa Brady.
Lisa was nominated by her peers and selected by ION for National Afterschool Professionals Appreciation Week (April 22-26, 2024). ION will announce several more Idaho Afterschool Champions by the end of the month. Like Lisa, each of these Champions will be celebrated for their amazing work helping kids outside the classroom.
Lisa deserves this recognition for her work with the Treasure Valley Safe Routes to School program. Because of her hard work, thousands of kids in schools and afterschool programs across the Treasure Valley know her as “Safety Deputy Brady.” They know she’s not there to enforce the law – but to be their Rodeo master. Throughout the school year and all summer long Lisa brings the Bike Rodeo training course to schools and afterschool programs.
For the last ten years, Lisa Brady has been a program manager for the Safe Routes to School program which uses federal dollars and covers the entire Valley Ride service area. The program is also made possible with the help and engagement of community partners including the Boise Bike Project, Treasure Valley YMCA, City of Nampa, Boise Parks and Recreation and many others.
The first word that comes to Lisa’s mind when she thinks about this program is the word freedom. Kids are so excited to learn how to be more independent and responsible for their own safety.
“They tell me its feels like an early Drivers’ Ed class because I’m teaching them the Rules of the Road.”
Lisa supports them and helps them earn that freedom in more ways than just making the Bike Rodeo exciting. Along with the dozens of bikes she brings to each location she also brings a bottomless bag full of afterschool snacks.
“I’ve gotta have 50 granola bars with me all the time,” Lisa says. Nutrition is an important part of every afterschool program and helps kids have fun being physically active and ready to tackle the Bike Rodeo obstacle course.
Lisa’s program has been extremely successful. Her advice to others starting similar programs is to start small – do what you can with the resources you have knowing that there will always be more ways to protect kids on the road. Her next goal for the Treasure Valley program is to make bicycle freedom more accessible to kids with limited mobility. Special equipment for kids with different abilities can cost a lot. So Lisa is applying for grants to extend the Safe Routes to School’s budget and hopes to have funding soon for several adaptive bikes.
Lasa has found working with kids to be a tremendously rewarding experience. She gets to see the results of her work every day. It makes her proud when she sees any child riding a bike in a neighborhood – especially if they are riding “heads-up” and using their hand signals – just like she taught them in the Bike Rodeo!
Lisa has proudly earned her nickname Safety Deputy Brady with thousands of kids. Now she’s earned her recognition as an Idaho Afterschool Champion as well.
Thank you, Lisa Brady!
