Bay Area students skip the bus to pound the pavement on National Walk to School Day

TAMPA, Fla. - Students across several Bay Area counties weren't at the bus stops Wednesday morning. Instead, they decided to lace up their shoes for National Walk to School Day. 

In Hillsborough County, a record 32 schools—up from only 10 last year—participated, and Superintendent Van Ayres was at Potter Elementary to greet students and their families. He was joined by city and county officials, along with members of local advocacy non-profit, Sidewalk Stompers. 

For Sidewalk Stompers, encouraging students to take a more active route to school is a year-round effort. The nonprofit currently partners with 18 Hillsborough County public schools, reaching over 2,000 students with ‘Walk to School’ programs. The organization’s vision is a new generation engaged in active transportation, growing up healthier and better invested in their community.

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Throughout the year it keeps track of how many students at each of those schools walk or bike, and provide incentives along the way.

"We are measuring this both by individual school and county wide," explained Sidewalk Stomper's Emily Hinsdale. "Last year for national walk to school day we had 10 schools celebrating in Hillsborough County and this year we have 33, so it's really an incredible growth this year - last year we counted a few hundred walking with us, this year we have well over 4,000 that have registered just with sidewalk stompers and there are more doing their own programs. "

The group also works to bring awareness to drivers in school zones and to advocate for more road safety improvements for students.

Over the last year, it has worked with Tampa CRA and school officials to paint crosswalk murals at schools across the city.