Every morning for the past 11 years, I’ve walked my kids to school.
First, it was me pushing my newborn and 3-year-old in a double stroller while my kindergartener trotted confidently ahead, his backpack bobbing and nearly as big as he was.
Then it was my two little boys racing each other down the sidewalk while I jogged behind them to keep up, my youngest bouncing in the stroller.
Now, I trail behind as that once-stroller-bound child — now a fifth grader — sprints ahead and I yell (for the umpteenth time), “Cross with the crossing guard!” as the guard lifts a big red stop sign and escorts her safely across the street.
To that crossing guard — and all the ones before you — I want to say: thank you.
Thank you for shepherding my kids safely across the street. God knows they didn’t always pay attention, and you did.
Crossing Guard Nicole Mitchell of Inglewood gets emotional as she looks at her certificate of appreciation last week. (Photo by Melissa Heckscher, The Beach Reporter/SCNG)
Manhattan Beach Mayor David Lesser, crossing guard Nicole Mitchell and Janet Jones during the city’s “Crossing Guard Appreciation Month.” (Photo by Melissa Heckscher, The Beach Reporter/SCNG)
Manhattan Beach Mayor David Lesser surprised crossing guard Nicole Mitchell of Inglewood with a certificate of appreciation on Feb. 26. (Photo by Melissa Heckscher, The Beach Reporter/SCNG)
Nicole Mitchell of Inglewood stands at Peck and Second Street near Pennekamp Elementary, where she works as a crossing guard. (Photo by Melissa Heckscher, The Beach Reporter/SCNG)
Richard Umbarger of Redondo Beach stands outside Grandview Elementary, where he has worked as a crossing guard for 20 years. (Photo by Melissa Heckscher, The Beach Reporter/SCNG)
Crossing Guard Nicole Mitchell of Inglewood holds back tears as she talks to Manhattan Beach Mayor David Lesser about the job. (Photo by Melissa Heckscher, The Beach Reporter/SCNG)
Pennekamp crossing guard Ron Lysik receives a certificate from Manhattan Beach Mayor David Lesser last week. (Photo by Melissa Heckscher, The Beach Reporter/SCNG)
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Crossing Guard Nicole Mitchell of Inglewood gets emotional as she looks at her certificate of appreciation last week. (Photo by Melissa Heckscher, The Beach Reporter/SCNG)
Thank you for standing in the rain without an umbrella (you need that free hand to direct traffic), letting water pour down your neon vest while children splash past you in barely used raincoats and rubber boots.
Thank you for stepping into intersections and meeting impatient drivers with an outstretched hand, and a firm glare when they inch into the crosswalk.
You are the heroes in plain sight.
And I’m not the only one who feels that way.
“I feel like, in this world, so many people who do great things are unseen,” said Manhattan Beach resident Janet Jones. “I think they deserve to be seen. I think they deserve to be acknowledged.”
Three years ago, Jones created Manhattan Beach’s “Crossing Guard Appreciation Day.” February is already designated “Crossing Guard Appreciation Month,” but Jones wanted to add a local, more personal touch.
It was a simple idea with a powerful message: honoring the crossing guards of Manhattan Beach with a certificate and heartfelt thanks.
Last week, Jones and Manhattan Beach Mayor David Lesser distributed those gratitude certificates — along with swag bags and flowers (the latter donated by Growing Wild florist) — to the city’s crossing guards.
“Each one of them has a story,” said Jones, a longtime philanthropist who is also the founder of the Single Mom Project, a successful local nonprofit dedicated to helping struggling single mothers. “They’re not just standing there with a stop sign. They’re parents. They’re grandparents. They’re caregivers. They’re part of this community.”
More than a stop sign
Meet Pennekamp Elementary crossing guard Nicole Mitchell.
When I arrived to meet her just before her afternoon shift on Feb. 26, she was chatting with a dad on a bicycle — a toddler perched happily on the bike’s rear seat. They were laughing about something, and before they pulled away, the toddler smiled and waved goodbye.
Before I could get a word in, a car rolled to a stop at the intersection, the driver leaning out the window to pass Mitchell an apple.
“He always brings me fruit,” Mitchell said to me with a smile.
Then, it was time for work.
Mitchell stepped toward the four-way intersection at Peck Avenue and Second Street. She slipped on her neon vest, gripped her stop sign tightly and looked toward the street as she talked to me. The kids weren’t out yet, so she was relaxed.
“This is a very busy intersection,” she said. “But I have it so under control.”
And she does. Mitchell has worked as a crossing guard for eight years — three of them at Pennekamp.
She loves the job. Loves the community. Even loves the dogs (whom she knows all by name).
Still, she doesn’t sugarcoat the risks.
“I’ve had some very close calls out here,” she said, pointing to a stop sign partially hidden by foliage. “A lot of people pass it because they can’t really see it. And they just fly through.
“But you won’t ever hear about there being an accident right here,” Mitchell added. “I guarantee you. Not while I’m here.”
Mitchell is known among Pennekamp families as the guard who waves to every single driver who rolls past. I’ve waved back countless times without knowing her name. I’m glad I finally do.
“I love my post, I love my corner and I love the community,” Mitchell said. “They’ve been so nice to me.”
But it isn’t easy. Mitchell also works a night shift as a caregiver for adults with disabilities from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., then clocks in for her 7:30 to 9 a.m. shift at Pennekamp. After that, she heads home to care for her elderly mother, who has dementia, before coming back for the afternoon shift.
I asked her when she sleeps. She just shrugged and said, without a hint of complaint, “I find time.”
It’s a part-time job that pays about $19.50 an hour, roughly $78 a day, according to All City Management Services, which contracts with the city to provide crossing guard services.
“It’s not about the hours. It’s not about what I get paid,” Mitchell said. “It’s the kids that keep me here.”
And I believe her. Mitchell has one of those infectious spirits. She’s the kind of person you like instantly.
She also understands the weight of the job.
“I’m not just a crossing guard,” she said. “When those kids leave that gate, I’m responsible for them. I’ve got to direct the cars. These kids depend on me.”
The people who stand guard
Rebecca Vanderblumen, who began working as a crossing guard this fall and serves as a substitute throughout the South Bay, echoed that sense of vigilance.
“It’s a lot of responsibility,” she said. “We have to be vigilant of who’s crossing because there’s so much traffic. Nowadays, the drivers don’t pay attention.”
Vanderblumen left a nearly 20-year administrative job before starting crossing guard work.
“I’ve only been here for like three months,” she said, “and I feel more appreciated at this job than at any office job I’ve had.”
Filling in where needed, she said the role has unexpectedly changed her pace of life.
“It’s helped me to slow my life down,” she said, “and just appreciate life.”
At Grandview Elementary, meanwhile, 79-year-old Richard Umbarger has stood at the same corner for nearly 20 years.
A former civil engineer, he said this work suits him better.
“It’s the only time I get to talk with somebody other than my family,” Umbarger said. “And it keeps me moving. I could easily be a couch potato.”
Umbarger has five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He’s the kind of man who keeps dog treats in his trunk for passing pups. (“They all know me,” he said with a chuckle.) And h high-fives all the Parks and Recreation kids as they pass.
But like the others, he has seen the stakes up close.
“I’ve had people that have driven right through the crosswalk while I’m standing there,” Umbarger said. “I’ve had a couple of close calls where people just weren’t paying attention. I’ve been brushed numerous times.”
What he’s describing isn’t rare. While there are no statistics on the number of crashes avoided by crossing guards, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that traffic-related injuries remain one of the leading causes of death for children in the United States — with most child pedestrian injuries occurring at or near intersections. Studies show that adult-supervised crossings significantly reduce pedestrian injury risk, particularly for elementary-aged children.
“Manhattan Beach goes beyond many other cities in contracting for crossing guards at its busiest intersections near schools,” said Lesser, who mentioned that the city budgets up to $550,000 a year for crossing guard services. “They are part of our prioritization of public safety.”
Heroes in uniform
Crossing guards are not fighting fires. They are not fighting wars. But they’re wearing uniforms just the same.
They step into traffic so our children don’t have to.
They watch for the car that doesn’t slow down.
They pay attention when drivers don’t.
So to the crossing guards who have shepherded my children across intersections for the past 11 years — and to the ones who will guide all of the children to come — thank you.
You matter. And it’s about time we thanked you.