MDOT developed RIDES (Roadways In Developing Elementary Students), to introduce students in kindergarten through eighth grade to careers in the transportation while improving math and science skills throughout the state. Nine elementary schools participated in training during the Summer of 2004; training was conducted that summer by university professors who had helped develop the curriculum. In 2005, certified elementary and middle school teachers became the primary trainers. During that summer, 149 teachers from across the state attended the two-day training. They each received two large trunks of resource materials and a curriculum that was aligned with state and national standards in math and science. The program was updated in 2006 to include seventh and eighth grade standards; more than 244 teachers were trained that summer. Training continued in 2007 and currently 753 teachers representing 242 schools have participated in the training.

RIDES became very successful and the waiting list of teachers applying for training and materials grew rapidly. MDOT explored additional partnerships to fund the expansion of the program into additional schools. MDOT secured two grants from the Appalachian Regional Commission to fund RIDES training and trunks for teachers from the distressed counties in the Appalachian Region. The Mississippi Department of Education provided $19,500 for 13 sets of trunks for teachers in the coastal areas affected by Hurricane Katrina.

MDOT developed another key RIDES partnership with the Mississippi Department of Mental Health’s Region 8 Work Activities Center. Clients of the center assemble and deliver the RIDES trunks, which are filled with lesson and activity materials. This partnership is an economical solution to the labor-intensive process of producing the trunks, and provides Region 8 clients with an opportunity to practice work-related skills, such as sorting, counting, assembling, and working as a team.

Information: For more information on the RIDES program, you may contact Beth Ann Wann at bwann@mdot.state.ms.us or 601-359-7074.

How to Apply: Complete the attached application and mail to Linda Clifton, 100 Parkwood Garden, Booneville, MS 38829. You will be placed on a waiting list and notified when training dates are set.

Make RIDES program a part of your classroom.

Application for RIDES Program