'Rely on them': Chicago Public Schools honors top crossing guards in heartfelt ceremony
CHICAGO - There was a celebration for the men and women who make sure the city's kids are safe getting to school and back home, as Chicago Public Schools honored four of their top crossing guards.
Altogether, nearly 700 CPS crossing guards work in cold and heat, rain and snow, early and late.
On Monday, scores of crossing guards still wearing their yellow reflective vests and holding stop signs filled an auditorium at Malcolm X College to honor four of their crossing colleagues.
"I just want you to know you have that impact on our families," said Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez. "I want to thank you for your hard work."
Among the honorees was a familiar smiling face. Tammy Anderson, a crossing guard at 53rd and State for eight years, has become famous as the "Dancing Crossing Guard."
"One wave contagiously took over me and I just started waving," Anderson said. "I got happy with it. And then I just started adding a little music with it, gospel, and just started dancing. It feels so good to be appreciated. To be celebrated by everyone," Anderson said.
Another winner, Kimberly Dukes, has been crossing kids in Englewood for 19 years.
"I talk to them. They like me to hold their hand and walk across the street. I cross with them, I jump with them, whatever they like me to do, I do with them," Dukes said.
In addition to keeping kids safe in traffic, these crossing guards are often a lifeline for kids with troubled support systems.
"Our families have come to rely on them," said Jadine Chou, CPS Chief of Safety and Security. "They know that if they need something besides crossing the street they can reach out to one of our crossing guards and they will always be there for them."
And if you think this is just temporary employment, think again. Because 166 of the 700 CPS crossing guards have been working for at least 20 years — 44 for at least 30 years. And six have been crossing guards for over 40 years.
"There are crossing guards who crossed their parents. Now they cross their kids and maybe some of the grandkids," said Chou. "So it's generation after generation of dedication that they've shown every year."
But another winner — Gwenette Scott — has only been on the job for two years. It isn't hard to figure out why she was honored so quickly.
"I love my babies and they love me," Scott said. "I see them as my children. I don't have children yet so they are just little rays of sunshine," Scott said.
