Photo by Jean Falbo Sosnovich
The view from Seymour Avenue looking toward Elizabeth Street (on the righ) and Caroline Street (on the left). Irving School is off camera on the immediate left, St. Mary-St. Michael School is off camera on the immediate right.
DERBY — Officials were left scrambling after two school crossing guards quit, leaving Irving School students to cross a three-way intersection where motorists aren’t known for their patience.
Irving School, Derby Public Library, and the St. Mary – St. Michael School are all near an intersection where Elizabeth and Caroline streets meet Seymour Avenue.
It’s a traffic mess in the morning and afternoons with a line of buses, parents, and impatient motorists. Neither Irving nor St. Mary – St. Michael have a genuine drop-off area designed for school buses — so traffic jams happen daily. The intersection is also weirdly aligned, with motorists often not granting the right of way.
Meanwhile, plenty of children cross the busy intersection to get to and from school in the morning and afternoon.
The lack of crossing guards started last Friday, and continued into Monday and Tuesday, according to parent Donna Lynn Hasbrouck. It bothered Hasbrouck because she said her son was almost hit by a careless motorist Sept. 23 while he was crossing the street toward Irving — and that was with a crossing guard present.
“My son was crossing in the crosswalk with the crossing guard, and a car ran the stop and came just inches away from hitting my son,” she said.
Hasbrouck said she got a license plate of the vehicle and contacted police — it turned out to be another parent dropping his kids at school that day.
Hasbrouck said she notified the police and city hall about the recent missing crossing guards but didn’t hear back, so she went public with her complaint in a few Derby community groups on Facebook Tuesday morning.
“I cannot be the only parent absolutely enraged by the lack of safety protocol by the town during opening and dismissal of the private school & Irving. We are on day 3 of absolutely no crossing guard or police presence,” she wrote in the post.
Mayor Richard Dziekan said he found out about the situation from Hasbrouck on Tuesday (Nov. 16), and reached out to Derby police.
Derby Police Chief Gerald Narowski declined comment.
At 2:22 p.m. Tuesday, Derby police posted a want ad for crossing guards on its Facebook page. The school district also sent an email to families Tuesday with a link to a Google form titled “crossing guard interest form.”
A police officer was stationed at the intersection Wednesday morning, parents said.
Mayor Dziekan said he was told two crossing guards quit after being treated badly by passing motorists — and parents.
“One quit, then another one quit; parents were being very abrasive and very unreasonable toward them,” Dziekan said. “As soon as we got wind of the situation, we sent a police officer there to do the crossing guard duties. People really should drive more carefully through school zones. Our number one priority is the safety of children. Parents need to work with the crossing guards, and if we all work together, nobody will get hurt.”
Hasbrouck thanked the Derby Police Department on Facebook for stationing an officer at the intersection on Wednesday morning.
Here’s the help wanted post from Derby PD:
The Derby Police Department is hiring two (2) Irving School crossing guards through the end of the school year.
Hours are 08:15 – 09:00 in the morning and 3:00 – 3:45 in the afternoon. Pay is $20.00 per hour.
If you are interested you can pick up an application at the Derby Police Department or contact us directly at (203) 735‑7811.
Solving the problem may not be easy. There are media reports of crossing-guard shortages happening all over the country. Click here for a smattering of stories.
