Students hoof it to class as part of International Walk to School Day

Nine-year-old Sienna Rothrock started walking to school as a kindergartner.

She doesn’t walk solely because she lives close to her school, Abraham Lincoln Elementary in La Crescenta. The exercise pushes her through the school day, even now as a fourth-grade student.

“It’s a great way to get energy,” Sienna said. “I’m all pumped up, and it helps me focus.”

Usually, Sienna walks with 10 people to school every day. But on Wednesday, she was joined by more than 30 schoolmates who started the trek to Lincoln from Crescenta Valley Park.

Lincoln students participated in International Walk to School Day, an annual event that encourages youth to forego buses and car rides and instead use a safe route to walk or bike to school.

Since 2009, the event has grown from just R.D. White Elementary to all 30 schools within the Glendale Unified school district and four private schools participating. More than 8,000 students walked during last year’s event, said Kara Sergile, a Safe Routes to School consultant for the city of Glendale.

The walk is part of Glendale’s Safe Routes to School program, a branch of the federally funded organization of the same name working to improve the well-being and health of children by creating accessible routes to school, according to its website.

For Glendale, the program provided funding for the city to install slower speed limit signs and improve sidewalks.

On Wednesday, Lincoln students skipped and jumped, with parents by their sides, as they crossed Honolulu Avenue.

In Glendale, students waved American, Japanese and Mexican flags as they made their way down Colorado Street toward John Muir Elementary School. Glendale police and firefighters kept a close eye on the young walkers.

The event marked the first time Trygge Toven walked to school with his 6-year-old daughter, Synnove. Toven commutes roughly 20 minutes from North Hollywood to take his daughter to first grade. When Synnove learned about the walk, she urged her father to join.

The walk reminded Toven of when he walked to school until he could drive.

“In our situation, I would love for her to walk to school,” he said as Synnove hugged and smiled at teachers she knew. “This is great. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

The walks aims to make students more active. In 2010, more than 37% of Glendale youth were considered overweight or obese, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

“We also use this annual event to remind people about being a safe pedestrian and teaching our children the same,” Sergile said. “You can meet other neighbors and families more as a community with these walks.”

Grainne Ong Yiu, who lives near Sienna’s family, said she used to walk her three children to school every day. Not only was the walk a good form of exercise, it was also a way to bond with her children over the years.

Now, her youngest, 11-year-old Leighton, walks Sienna home daily.

“We talked about homework, anything last minute, and there were no distractions,” Ong Yiu said, adding that she thought the Walk to School was a good idea.

“This is a good community event,” she said.

Leighton attended the walk, dancing and waving to passing cars. Some students didn’t realize who he was as they gave him energetic high-fives. Leighton didn’t don a backpack. He opted for a furry suit — as the school’s mascot, Dan the Lion.