Everything you need to know about WheelWISE

WheelWISE is a 12-session micromobility safety and character education program for grades 6–8, built by NorthStar Mentors. It helps schools, public safety agencies, and driver education providers prepare students for e-bikes, e-scooters, traffic, and peer pressure — without requiring a new course or certified instructor.

The program is built around the W.I.S.E. Learning Model and W.I.S.E. Character Framework, which give students a repeatable decision-making cycle they can apply on any micromobility device, in any traffic environment, at any age.

WheelWISE serves three types of partners:

• Schools and districts — runs in health, PE, advisory, after-school, or enrichment settings for grades 6–8.
• Public safety agencies — police, fire, and SRO programs can sponsor, co-host, or fully deliver the program in their communities.
• Driver education providers — add WheelWISE as a pre-driving readiness module that reaches families 2–3 years before permit age.

All three delivery contexts use the same 12-session core curriculum, with optional partner-specific modules available for each audience.

No. WheelWISE is designed to run without a certified instructor. Any trained staff member — a school counselor, PE teacher, paraprofessional, SRO, or community partner — can facilitate sessions using the included facilitator guides.

Each session guide is written for educators without a background in traffic safety or e-bike law. Materials include discussion prompts, scenario cards, and step-by-step facilitation notes that make delivery reliable regardless of facilitator experience level.

WheelWISE runs across 12 structured sessions of approximately 50 minutes each. Three delivery formats are available:

• 12-week standard format — one session per week, designed to align with a semester elective or advisory block.
• 6-week accelerated format — two sessions per week, suitable for after-school programs or enrichment blocks with tighter calendars.
• Seasonal camp format — condensed delivery across an intensive multi-day or week-long program.

All three formats deliver the full curriculum and all four PSA projects required for the Safety Ambassador designation.

The W.I.S.E. Learning Model is the decision cycle students move through in every session:

• Watch — identify risk: what hazards or pressures are present in this situation?
• Investigate — analyze choices and consequences: what are my options and what happens if I choose each one?
• Share — teach peers through PSA creation: how can I communicate what I've learned to someone who hasn't thought about it yet?
• Empower — commit to and advocate for responsible behavior: what will I do, and how will I help others do the same?

The cycle is designed to become an internalized habit — not a checklist students recite, but a pattern of noticing, thinking, communicating, and acting responsibly that generalizes to any risk environment.

The W.I.S.E. Character Framework builds four traits throughout the program:

• Wonder — curiosity about risk: what am I missing? What haven't I thought about?
• Integrity — alignment between values and actions: do I act the same way whether or not anyone is watching?
• Service — recognizing that your choices affect others: how does my riding behavior affect my community, my peers, and people I'll never meet?
• Empathy — understanding how your decisions impact pedestrians, drivers, and classmates who share the road.

These traits are woven into every session — not taught as standalone lessons — so they accumulate progressively and remain connected to real-world situations students encounter.

Research shows peer pressure is a stronger predictor of unsafe riding behavior than knowledge of traffic law — students who know the rules will still remove their helmets if their friends do. Knowing what to do and actually doing it under social pressure are different skills that require different instruction.

WheelWISE addresses this directly through:

• Scenario practice — students rehearse social situations and practice language for declining unsafe requests.
• Social-norm work — students examine and challenge false assumptions about what "everyone" does or expects.
• PSA creation — by creating and presenting public service announcements, students practice influencing peer behavior responsibly rather than just defending their own choices.

The goal is to produce students who can lead, not just resist — riders who set the norm rather than succumb to it.

WheelWISE aligns with five major standards frameworks:

• CASEL SEL — all five competencies: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.
• IPDE driving process (Identify, Predict, Decide, Execute) — the same cognitive model used in formal driver education, introduced 2–3 years earlier.
• NGSS Next Generation Science Standards — through systems thinking, cause-and-effect analysis, and data interpretation.
• SHAPE America National Health Education Standards (NHES) — specifically NHES 1, 4, 5, 7, and 8.
• Common Core ELA — through PSA research, evidence-based argumentation, and oral presentation.

Standards alignment documentation is available in the WheelWISE white paper and partner onboarding materials.

WheelWISE uses a per-building license — not a per-pupil subscription. One license covers all students in a building across all delivery formats: in-school sessions, before/after school programs, and at-home enrichment materials.

This model keeps implementation costs predictable and ensures that serving more students never increases the cost. Multi-building district licenses are available at a reduced per-building rate.

Contact NorthStar Mentors for current pricing, grant-friendly invoicing formats, and purchase order options.

The Safety Ambassador designation is earned by students who complete all four PSA projects — not by passing a quiz. It is a portfolio-based credential that reflects genuine civic contribution, not test performance.

Students research, draft, peer-review, and publicly present four public service announcements across the program's safety domains:

• Rules of the Road — traffic law and right-of-way for micromobility users
• Legal Basics — age restrictions, helmet laws, and classification by jurisdiction
• Gear and Battery Safety — UL certification, charging hazards, and protective equipment
• Street Smarts and Peer Pressure — social dynamics of unsafe riding and strategies for peer influence

Designated Safety Ambassadors receive a certificate from NorthStar Mentors that they can include in school portfolios, extracurricular records, or community service documentation.

Children ages 11–14 represent 38.3% of all pediatric e-scooter injuries while comprising only about 18% of the youth population. CPSC NEISS 2023

Three factors converge at this age range to create disproportionate risk:

• Speed without training — students are riding e-bikes and e-scooters at 20–28 mph in real traffic, years before formal driver education begins.
• No decision-making framework — without structured instruction, riders default to observation and imitation of peers, which is the most dangerous learning model in a traffic environment.
• Peer influence at its peak — early adolescence is the developmental period when peer approval most strongly overrides individual risk assessment.

A 2023 JAMA Surgery study found e-bike head trauma increased 49× between 2017 and 2022, with pediatric riders in urban environments representing the fastest-growing injury cohort. WheelWISE is designed specifically for this gap — between the ages when kids are riding and the age when driver education begins.

WheelWISE aligns with multiple federal grant programs. Partners have used or are pursuing funding through:

• Title IV-A Stronger Connections (Department of Education) — school safety, well-being, and violence prevention
• 21st Century Community Learning Centers — after-school and expanded learning programs
• SAMHSA AWARE — mental health and social-emotional learning in schools
• COPS School Violence Prevention Program (DOJ) — community partnerships for school and community safety
• STOP School Violence (BJA) — evidence-based violence prevention in educational settings
• NHTSA Section 402/405 — for driver education providers, highway safety program grants
• Safe Routes to School (FHWA) — pedestrian and cyclist safety education for K–8 students

The WheelWISE white paper includes grant-eligible language, outcome documentation aligned to each grant's reporting requirements, and evidence citations you can use in an application narrative. Download the white paper →