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Thousands of Montgomery County students walked to school Wednesday morning as part of a movement to promote healthy conversation and a healthy environment.

Aditya Sastry found walking to Germantown Elementary School with his father, Anand Sastry, a welcome change from riding in the car.

"That was better," said Aditya, 9, about his dad walking him to school. "Sometimes when I do walk to school by myself, there's no one to talk to but today I had my dad."

More than 20 Montgomery County Public Schools participated in International Walk to School Day, said school system spokeswoman Kate Harrison.

County Executive Isiah Leggett attended the walk at Bethesda Elementary School.

Germantown Elementary Principal Amy Bryant thought the event was a good way for parents to spend more time with their children and encourage consciousness about saving the environment. She also wanted to find ways to bring parents closer to their children and build lines of communication.

"When you walk, you're forced to talk to the other person," Bryant said. "We wanted to try the walk out and we got an overwhelming turnout."

Physical education teacher Jeff Burdette, handed parents and children cups of orange juice and apple juice and a step meter, which counts the number of steps taken in a day.

"We just figured it would be a good day for parents to put on their walking shoes and leave the car at home," Burdette said.

Kalief King, a fifth-grader, and Zoe Phillips, a third-grader, usually catch a school bus in the mornings. Instead of walking them to the bus stop, their parents walked them to school.

"She was excited to walk because it was National Walk to School Day," said Tiffany Phillips, Zoe's mother. "So, I got her and my other two children together and we walked."

Corey King, Kalief's father, walked 15 minutes from home to school with his son. "We took our time, but we got here and it was fun," Corey said.

"I liked that I got to spend time with my dad while walking to school," Kalief said. "I like spending time with him."

Usually, crossing guard Kristen Kiernan helps 40 children cross the intersection of Dawson Farm and Liberty Mill roads. She estimated that more than 100 people crossed the intersection Wednesday.

"We had to hold a few people from crossing the streets, but we mostly held up cars so people could cross," Kiernan said. "There weren't as many cars today which is a good thing."