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What Moves Everett Schools

To understand the Everett, Massachusetts Public School Community's to and from school commutes and how the city could improve them, Green Streets was hired in Spring 2023 by the Everett Planning Department to conduct this groundbreaking study examining the commuting habits of the Everett School District. 

 

  • Survey: Green Streets surveyed the Everett School District’s K-12 students (the city already had data on how faculty and staff commute) about the ways in which they travel to and from school. We also asked them how they would like to travel, and what stops them from doing so. 

  • In-Depth Conversations: Green Streets recorded video conversations with 19 Everett students, faculty and staff, and parents and guardians about their commutes to school. 

  • Final Report: This report includes quantitative survey findings, qualitative video conversation findings, along with data collection methodology.

 

Scroll down to see snippets of these videos, a map of the schools across the city, a summary of findings and data, and more! 

 

Faculty and Staff

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High School Students

Max's map_edited.jpg

EVERETT, MA SCHOOL DISTRICT

  • Everett is located just north of Boston.

  • In 2022-2023, Everett Public School's enrollment was approximately 7,300 students from PK - 12th grade (MA Department of Education, 2023).

  • According to the Everett Planning Department, the most common languages spoken in the schools are English, Spanish, Haitian Creole, and Portuguese.

  • A small sample of statewide data from MA Safe Routes to Schools shows that 2% of MA students bike to school and 18% walk. Here is how Everett compares. 

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Elementary and Middle

School Students, 

and Parents/Guardians

Adam: “[Walking] lets me get my cardio in.”

Summary of Findings
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  • Everett is a city of walkers! 51% of Everett students walk TO school, and 55% walk FROM school.

  • Students want to bike and use skateboards, rollerblades, or scooters to get to and from school. They don’t because of concerns about safety, poor infrastructure, not enough money or the right equipment, and not having their parents’ permission.

  • Some Everett streets, like Santilli Circle, Broadway, and Ferry Street, are particularly dangerous due to car traffic, potholes, poor sidewalk design, and not enough bike lanes.

  • MBTA buses are essential for many students’ commutes, and they don’t come often enough or go where people need them to.

  • Parents’ worries about young kids traveling on their own often lead them to frequently driving their students to school.

District-wide Survey Data

The graphs below show K-12 data on:

  • Commutes to and from school

  • After-school destination

  • Modes students would like to try

  • Reasons students do not use the modes they would like.

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Downloadable PDF: 

K-12 to and from school.png
K-12 modes students would like to try.png

Note. Student reasons for not using the modes they'd like were only collected for grades 6-12. 

Click here for the breakdown of this information by age group (K-5, 6-8, and 9-12) and K-5 school as well as project information from Spring 2023. 

Summary of findings
Snippets
If you are interested in showcasing the green commuting members of your workplace, religious organization, or other community group, click here for more information.
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Check out our other What Moves Us projects:
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