NORTH COLLEGE HILL, Ohio — With school back in session, the combination of busy intersections and students walking to class can be a recipe for disaster.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, thousands of pedestrians are hit and killed — 141 of those deaths are kids younger than 13 years old.
North College Hill Superintendent Dr. Eugene Blalock Jr. said the district has placed not just 'School Zone' and 'Pedestrian Walking' signs in the area, but has added crossing guards at the busiest intersections surrounding their schools.
“I don’t want to get that phone call,” he said. “I don’t want to have to make that phone call to a parent that your child was hit.”
District teachers Ryan Anders and Nicolas Leakey were both wearing their crossing guard gear Tuesday morning as students arrived at school.
“It’s dangerous and scary to watch some of these kids cross,” Anders said.
They both said they want to stretch the safety net they create in the school building to the roads.
“I think a lot of people aren’t paying attention on the road as they should be, so seeing someone out with a bright vest and a stop sign kind of helps settle things down a bit,” Leakey said.
Blalock said having crossing guards is just one part of the bigger picture when it comes to safety and students coming and leaving school.
“This is a collaboration,” he said. “We need the crossing guards and school to work with the city. We need the city to work with our parents. And I think all of us, you know, we have to try like this and make sure that we’re doing everything we can.”
Students, he said, need to remember to stay in the crosswalk and parents should be having conversations with their kids about safety. But most importantly, drivers' full attention should be on the road.
