Safe crossing

May 6—As Beverly school crossing guard Kevin Shrayer stood at his post near the Ayers Ryal Side School recently, waving as always to passing cars, a woman in a green SUV stopped briefly to say hello.

As she drove away, the woman offered an assessment that lots of people share about the friendly man in the green safety vest. "You're the best, my friend," she said.

Shrayer might soon have an honor to verify that opinion. He has been named one of five finalists for the first-ever Crossing Guard of the Year Award by the Massachusetts Safe Routes to School program.

The finalists include another North Shore crossing guard, Jim Laramie, who mans the busy intersection near the Glover School in Marblehead. The winner will be announced at a virtual awards ceremony June 2.

"It's a great honor," Shrayer said. "Just to have the feeling that your community loves what you do is just the greatest feeling in the world."

The finalists were selected out of 170 nominations submitted to Massachusetts Safe Routes to School, a state program that advocates for safe walking and bicycling to and from school. Nominators were asked what they appreciate about their crossing guard, and how he or she has gone "above and beyond" for students and the school community.

Beverly Middle School wellness teacher Kevin Brown was among the first to nominate Shrayer.

"We both grew up in Danvers together and I knew Kevin through school and athletics," Brown said. "He's always been an enthusiastic kid who's always given it 110% in whatever he does. Certainly today he still shines."

Shrayer stands out — literally — in his job because of his positive and upbeat nature. He waves to everyone, wishes them a great day, and engages in 10-second conversations about the weather or the Patriots with hurried moms and dads.

"He makes everyone smile, every day," said Christen Gentile after she walked her second-grade daughter to school at Ayers Ryal Side. "Not all kids want to go to school every day. He's somebody that all our kids look forward to seeing."

Shrayer, 44, lives in Beverly with his fiancee, Beverly High School teacher Stefany Hirschfeld, and their 2-year-old daughter, Savannah. He has a 13-year-old son, Jack, from his first marriage.

Shrayer worked for years in bakeries but said the work was depressing, so he decided to get into "the field of helping people." His main job is serving as a caretaker for a man in a wheelchair. In between, he squeezes in morning and afternoon crossing guard stints at both Ayers Ryal Side and Beverly Middle School.

In addition to his primary responsibility of keeping children safe, Shrayer, who is in his third year as a crossing guard, said he tries to spread a little joy with a smile or a wave or a quick chat.

"I want people to smile," he said. "If they're having a bad day, brighten them up a little bit. Everyone deserves that."

"To me, it's more than just a job," he added. "It's life. It makes me happy. I carry on the day because I start on a good place."

In Marblehead, Laramie is in his second year as the crossing guard at the Glover School. At age 77 and retired from his career as an IT operations manager, he decided to keep busy by becoming a crossing guard.

"My five grandkids are all in school now," he said. "Somebody mentioned, 'You ought to try crossing guard.' I applied and got the job and I've been happy ever since."

According to one of the nominations on his behalf, Laramie "greets everyone with a smile, apparent even under the mask, and is ready for a fist bump from kids and adults. He's ready for a chat while you wait and always gets a day started right."

Laramie said the kids call him "Big Jim," and parents note how seriously he takes the job. The intersection where he works, at Humphrey and Maple streets down the hill from the Glover School, is a busy one with a traffic light.

"I make sure all the traffic is stopped before the kids get off the sidewalk," he said. "I used to step out as soon as it turned red. I learned quickly."Laramie said one of the best compliments he received came from a student whose mother walked her to school every day. When the girl showed up by herself one day, Laramie asked where her mother was.

"The kid said, 'She feels safe with you here,'" Laramie said.

Staff writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2535, by email at pleighton@salemnews.com, or on Twitter at @heardinbeverly.