Thank You Santa Cruz School Crossing Guards

Please join us in a big thank you to our Santa Cruz School Crossing Guards for keeping our children safe in crosswalks this school year. Every morning and every afternoon on school days, our Crossing Guards are posted on busy school crosswalks making sure children and families cross the street and get to school safe and sound.

The school year ends on Thursday June 11th. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of our Crossing Guard team, we have enjoyed an incident free school year.

Before school is out …when you see our School Crossing Guards, please give them a wave or thumbs up to show your appreciation and support for the work they do.

Santa Cruz City Crossing Guards brave the elements be it chilling rain, the blazing sun or distracted drivers during the school year. The Santa Cruz Police Department has 10 Crossing Guards posted at 4 elementary school sites.

This is Sandi Sand. She is adored by many Delaveaga Elementary students and families. Sandi just retired her post at Prospect Heights and Morrissey.

Here is Jerry Cacace in action near Bayview Elementary. You will find him posted at the intersection of Bay and Seaside Streets. Jerry is a dedicated professional to all who pass through his crossing station.

“Our jobs are vital to the safety, not only for school children, but anyone on foot and all traffic passing through those intersections. The bonus is the reward in seeing the smiles on people's faces and knowing they can walk or bike safely to and from school” said Mr. Cacace

The Santa Cruz Police Department and Santa Cruz families rely on all of our Crossing Guards every school day. Thank you to all our Crossing Guards. We very much appreciate your good work.

Take a picture to recognize your favorite Crossing Guard and post it on our Facebook page.

School Starts Tomorrow...Let's Make This Year a Safe Commute School Year!

Hard to believe.....but summer is coming to a screeching halt.  In case you haven't stocked up on lunch supplies, backpacks and binders....here's a reminder!!!

Most Santa Cruz City Schools start tomorrow (Wednesday August 27th). 

 

In just a few weeks, UCSC will be starting classes too.  What this likely means to you is that you will experience more traffic in your morning and afternoon commutes.  This increased traffic comes in all varieties; vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians.  

 

Traffic safety and safe school commutes are a priority issue for the Santa Cruz Police Department.   Our traffic officers are dedicated to ensuring school zones that are safe from aggressive and unsafe driving practices.  

 

We will be increasing our presence and traffic enforcement around our school zones, so you will be seeing more of this:

Don't let your driving habits give you cause to meet these guys!

They will be out in force to help ensure our school commutes are safe!! 

 

Here are a few common violations we see around the schools:

• Speeding (parents late for drop off or pickup)
• Illegal parking (parents late for drop off or pickup and not willing to walk from a distance)
• Illegal turns (parents trying to get that coveted up-close drop off/pick up location)
• Stop Sign Violations
• Not yielding to pedestrians
• Pedestrians crossing unsafely

 

It is our hope that commuters engage in safe and courteous habits to avoid experiencing an enforcement action.  Some tips to help your commute:

• Leave in plenty of time and anticipate heavier than usual traffic
• Be aware of school zones and traveled routes to school
• Be courteous and respectful to all traffic
• Be respectful to neighbors of schools avoiding parking in their driveways or parking lots without their permission

We encourage all commuters to develop safe and courteous habits and help us ensure this school year is a safe one.  If you have any questions or concerns about traffic safety in your school zone, please contact our Traffic Unit Sergeant @ (831) 420-5850. 

Chief Vogel, Superintendent Bloom and School Board Trustees Recognize School Crossing Guards

On Wednesday April 17^th, Santa Cruz Police Chief Kevin Vogel, Santa Cruz City Schools Superintendent Gary Bloom and the Santa Cruz City Schools Board of Trustees recognized and honored our team of school crossing guards at the school board meeting.  Chief Vogel presented the school crossing guards with a chief’s commendation and Superintendent Bloom presented them with a certificate of recognition and appreciation.   

The Santa Cruz Police Department School Crossing Guard Program is responsible for the safety of our children and pedestrians in school zones throughout the City of Santa Cruz.  Our crossing guard program represents a partnership between the City of Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz City Schools and our community.  The crossing guard program is comprised of 12 school crossing guards.  Our mission is to create the safest environment possible for children in these intersections and thoroughfares.  Our school crossing guards must commit themselves to the highest level of professionalism and responsibility in order to safeguard the wellbeing of our children as they walk to and from school.   

The Santa Cruz Police Department, Santa Cruz City Schools and the Santa Cruz community recognizes and appreciates the exemplary service that our school crossing guards perform day in, day out, rain or shine, to keep our children safe.  Our school crossing guards are responsible for providing safety to children and pedestrians in designated school zones throughout the City of Santa Cruz by escorting our children across the street going to and from school, reporting license plate numbers of reckless drivers and reporting all suspicious activity they observe around the schools.  They are the caretakers of our community’s children.              

On behalf of the Santa Cruz Police Department, Santa Cruz City Schools and the Santa Cruz community, Chief Vogel and Superintendent Bloom commended the school crossing guards for their outstanding performance and service as members of the Santa Cruz Police Department’s School Crossing Guard team.  The school crossing guards who were recognized and honored are Richard Bartlett, Jerry Cacace, Joni Cashin, Stephen Fuehrer, Stephen Hedges, Gail Marizette, Mark Okamoto, Ron Perrigo, Jr., Saundra Sand, Debra Stephens, Anne Taku and George Wischer.  The image below depicts our team of school crossing guards who were present for the recognition ceremony, along with Chief Vogel and Superintendent Bloom.