The school bell rings overhead. Cars are lining up, waiting to pull into the already small parking lot. School buses make their way to loading zones. And traffic on the nearby main street is not obeying a 15 mph school zone speed.

Chaos.

This is what a child faces when upon leaving the classroom each day. Making their way through a maze of fellow classmates, cars and buses, the children are not easily visible to drivers and more often than not, the children are not fully aware of the drivers.

But now, as part of the Safe Kids Program of Washoe County, child pedestrian safety is making its way to the forefront, educating students and drivers of the number of child pedestrian deaths every year and the risk involved for everyone.

“This is all so positive,” said Melissa Krall, coordinator of Safe Kids program of Washoe County. “We teach basic pedestrian safety and ask the school what problems they are seeing, like congested parking lots.”

And on the International Walk to School Day Wednesday, 17 kids at Esther Bennett Elementary School and the Walk This Way Safe Kids presentation showed just how to do that.

The class, put on by Safe Kids and sponsor FedEx, showcased what students encounter on a typical walk around town. Students were taken on walking field trips around parts of downtown Reno and near the University of Nevada, Reno campus and given cameras to document what they saw along the way.

The results were surprising as the students presented their findings in a school assembly. Construction zones, plenty of cars and narrow walkways riddled their paths, emphasizing the need to be an educated pedestrian.

“I learned a lot about pedestrian safety,” said KC Cortez, one of the budding photojournalists in the program. “You can learn about safety and have fun at the same time.”

Tips on crossing the street and wearing brighter, possibly reflective clothing were general messages given out to the students of Esther Bennett.

But in light of the recent federal grants given through the Safe Routes to School program, even further measures are being taken to ensure child pedestrian safety.

The $790,000 grant allocated to Washoe County will affect elementary and middle school children, encouraging more children to walk and bike to school.

“There has been a big spike in childhood obesity,” said Bill Storey, Safe Routes to School coordinator. “Safe Routes tries to get more kids to bike and walk (and by doing so) target health concerns and safety concerns for the kids.”

Both programs together had all the kids at Esther Elementary School buzzing with bright yellow backpacks, advising each other of traffic safety.

“It’s great when you hear the kids telling another kid something we taught them,” Krall said, “and even better when you see the kids doing it.”

Started nearly three years ago, the Safe Kids Program will soon be taking root in more than 80 public and private schools in Washoe County, Krall said.

Krall said she hopes to see further improvements to improve pedestrian safety, like the re-routing of traffic around Esther Elementary School, happen all around the county.

Esther Elementary principal Tammie Stockton said she fully agrees.

“Learning doesn’t take place if it isn’t safe,” Stockton said, explaining she has nearly half of her students riding buses every day and the other half either walks or gets rides from their parents. “Safety really does come first. And the kids love this (Safe Kids).”

For more information about the Safe Kids program, visit www.safekids.org.