FSK Elementary: glorious deco detail,but no guard.
A mom at Francis Scott Key Elementary School (at 43rd Avenue and Kirkham in the Sunset District) has been filling me in on the school community’s efforts to get a crossing guard outside the school. School crossing guards are provided by the city, not the school district – street safety is a function of the city, not of educators.
The city’s Division of Parking and Traffic says no dice, and Supervisor Carmen Chu hasn’t been able to help.
This is kind of messed up. The parents aren’t going to the trouble of asking for a crossing guard because they have nothing better to do but because they’re concerned that a child could be hurt or killed. Unless the parents are suffering from wildly overactive imaginations and baseless fears, shouldn’t that be a high priority for city government?
When FSK was built, somebody put some effort and money into fabulous art deco design elements. It makes you wonder if there was enough money for crossing guards at that time.
In the here and now, a staffer from the School Area Safety Program of San Francisco's Division of Parking and Traffic responded to the parent's query thusly:
“While I'm sure everyone would enjoy having a crossing guard around their school (after all, they are the most visible sign to everyone that children are nearby), we simply do not have enough crossing guards to fill all the requests that come in. Therefore, we have to prioritize where each of our crossing guards are stationed around the City.
Right now, all of our crossing guards have been spoken for this semester. We will reevaluate all our assignments again next year as conditions around the City's schools may change. … we are sorry that we couldn't comply with your concern immediately,”
This is not sexy or scandalous, but it still gives you one of those pangs of “what are our priorities, anyway?”
Comments
Our elementary school used to have 2 crossing guards, which was perfect as the school is in the middle of the street, and a crossing guard could be posted at each intersection. A couple years ago, we were cut back to 1 crossing guard. Kids continue to cross at both intersections, at their peril.
Peril? Back in the Neanderthal Age of the Sunset and uncontrolled intersections at Lawton, the students comprised the crossing guard. It was K-6 back then and only the oldest, most responsible were selected as guards. If you didn't "obey" the guard, you'd be reported and subsequently "advised" by your teacher (or heaven forbid, the Principal) as to the seriousness of intersection safety - sometimes, in front of the class. In those days, everyone walked home. You didn't want your parent to pick you up routinely from the front of school, for fear of (facetiously) gaining a "sissy" reputation. The whole "system" promoted behavioral expectations, responsibility, and self-policing that developed real "skills". Trust me on this one - drivers paid more attention to student guards than they did adult guards. I have to admit - my perspective is one more of new opportunity than loss on this one...
BTW, F. S. Key is an Art Deco treasure and must be preserved!
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