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Many of the students at Josephine Chrysler Elementary in Modesto, California live in a nearby housing development and walk to and from school each day. The principal, Thomas Freeman, found that he and the assistant principal were constantly dealing with conflicts springing up during the afternoon walk home. Neighbors complained about students messing up their yards or getting into fights. The administrators would spend hours after school trying to sort out and solve problems not knowing exactly what happened.
Freeman decided that he and the assistant principal would start accompanying students to the housing development after school. Each day they would walk with different groups of students and chat with them. Often the administrators would spend some time at the housing development touching base with parents. Sometimes particular students, fearing potential conflict with another group, would ask Freeman to walk with them, for they had grown to trust him. What began as a stopgap necessity became a positive experience for Freeman and his administrative staff. They became known throughout the neighborhood, and overall rapport with students and parents increased greatly. Also the 30-45 minutes spent walking students home saved them hours of dealing with discipline problems that had escalated.
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