Kids in Wauwatosa take part in "Walk to School Day"

WAUWATOSA (WITI) -- Hundreds of kids from Wauwatosa laced up and walked to school on Wednesday, October 9th. They were taking part in "International Walk to School Day."

The students were from McKinley Elementary School.

"It kind of gets the energy out of us," said third grader Connor Weishaar. "It's pretty awesome because we get to see a lot of other kids walk to school."

"It brings the kids together, it brings the parents together and gets a little bit of energy out of the kids before they start school," said parent Jodi Weishaar.

This is the fourth year the Wauwatosa School District has taken part in this worldwide event. Since the program started, the district has seen more kids making it a habit.

"Walking and biking to school even if it's just a couple of blocks, increases the children's attention span once they get to school , it also naturally incorporates exercise in their day," said Sarah Lerand, walk organizer. "We've done some follow-up studies and found almost a 20 percent increase in kids walking and biking to school."