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

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