Originally posted on IdahoEdNews.org on June 4, 2025

POCATELLO — On a few sunny school days in late May, streams of Pocatello middle schoolers cycled through town, sporting bright green helmets. Some were on their way to dirt trails, others to a local ice cream shop. 

The young cyclists ride most weekdays in the fall and spring — part of a national program called Ride for Focus (R4F) that promotes cycling as an outlet for students “to improve their social, emotional, and cognitive well-being,” especially among students who come from low-income backgrounds and have disproportionate access to bikes.

“There’s a lot of good that can come from putting a kid on a bicycle,” said Kevin Nielsen, a school resource officer who teaches the R4F program at Alameda Middle School. 

The Pocatello/Chubbuck School District is the first in the country to offer the program — which is developed by the nonprofit organization Outride — at all of its middle schools, including three traditional and an alternative. The program began at one school in the 2023-2024 school year, then expanded to four in fall 2024. The district applied for and won a grant that provided bikes, helmets, curriculum and teacher training for the R4F programs.

“I have witnessed firsthand the impact of R4F on our learners,” Ellen Laggis, the assistant principal and athletic director at Irving Middle, wrote in an October column for the Idaho State Journal. “Ride for Focus is a game-changer for our school, contributing to a healthier, more focused, and resilient student body.” 

Pocatello’s program is one of three being implemented in East Idaho. Pocatello Community Charter School was the first to adopt R4F, and American Falls School District began one in 2024. 

In Pocatello, students take the class as an hour-long elective, and spend time learning about bike maintenance, techniques and safety — becoming experts at everything from curb-hopping to traffic hand signals. They ride three or four times a week, and spend the other class period or two learning about bikes and biking, and catching up on homework in other classes. Students have to be passing all their classes to qualify for the R4F program. 

“Every time I go out biking, it just makes me feel happy,” said Kaiden Inskeep, a student at Franklin Middle School. 

Getting fresh air and riding bikes with his friends is “awesome,” Inskeep said, and helps him tackle the school day. 

That improved ability to focus during class helped spark the program, according to David Wood, Outride’s executive director. 

“Our journey began with a research project examining how cycling impacts students with and without ADHD,” he wrote in a 2024 impact report. “The positive results laid the foundation for Riding for Focus (R4F).”

It seems to be working, said Teacher Natasha Lattin, who spearheaded the R4F program in Pocatello. One of her students at Irving Middle often struggled to finish his math tests. Last school year, the only math test he finished was after an intense mountain bike ride he went on as part of the class. 

The biking program gives students like him an opportunity to be successful, Lattin said. 

At Franklin Middle School, R4F teacher Christa Gessaman said she is constantly getting positive feedback about the program’s impact on students. 

“Teachers have reported that students are doing better in their classes and focusing better,” she said. “I also have a couple students whose confidence is ramping up because of this class.”

Nielsen, the resource officer at Alameda Middle, said one student drastically improved his behavior at school in order to stay in the class. Another student learned to ride a bike in the program, and is asking for a bike of her own for her 15th birthday. 

Biking program gives students a chance to outride anxiety, stress

In late May, student cyclists from two Pocatello middle schools met at a local ice cream shop — a special end-of-the-year outing. For Irving Middle School students, that meant traveling on some high-traffic roads. 

So, the local police department provided an escort — with one vehicle in front, another behind — and shut down traffic on the busy streets as the cyclists rode through. At several of the schools, school resource officers and officers on bikes help with the program and ensure students are traveling safely through town. 

Nielsen said it’s a great way for officers to have positive interactions with students. 

“Some kids who may not be comfortable talking to officers now are,” he said. “It builds those relationships of trust, which I think is ideal and needed.”

Lizzie Baker, an Irving Middle School student, said riding bikes each day helps her focus in class. 

“I have a hard time listening and sitting still, and so it’s really helpful to go out and get some movement and fresh air,” she said.

Across town the day before, students at Franklin Middle School cycled over to a dirt trail and practiced their downhill skills. 

Student Aurora Hodges said the class gives her “a little bit more energy throughout the day.” 

“I bike a lot more at home, too,” she said. 

“It’s amazing how many lives we are touching and changing, just by being active, demonstrating overall health and wellness, and finding good habits to work through things,” Lattin, the Irving teacher, said. 

Today’s kids have a lot of anxiety and stressors, Lattin said: “It’s honestly tough to be a middle schooler. (With this program) they can take a break for an hour a day and go out and ride it out and work out whatever they might have going on, or just be able to be a kid.” 

Building, sustaining and growing the bike program has been a community effort

Lattin has been working hard to sustain and expand the R4F program.

Currently, the students ride during first and third trimesters, but aren’t able to do so during the winter months. So Lattin is looking into getting winter tires for the fleet of bikes. For now, she’s got a few bike trainers in her classroom that any student can ride if they’re struggling to focus. 

Lattin is also helping with or running a number of fundraisers to help maintain — and eventually replace — the 130 bikes districtwide. She’s also forged partnerships with local businesses, like Barrie’s Ski and Sports, which provides discounted bike gear and helps tune the bikes each year. 

“We couldn’t ask for a better community in Pocatello that looks out for our kids and that is willing to give them good, healthy outlets,” she said. “To see the entire community come behind it, from police officers to our administrators to our district to the bike shops, it’s pretty amazing.”