What are the responsibilities and job description for the School Crossing Guard position at Smithfield City?
POSITION SUMMARY
The Smithfield City Police Department School Crossing Guard is a non-sworn community member authorized to supervise, control, direct, manage, assist, and move pedestrians safely across designated school crosswalks. He or she has the primary responsibility to ensure safety at the school crosswalks. The SCPD School Crossing Guard works under the direct supervision of the Executive Assistant to the Chief of Police, and the general and specific supervision of the Chief of Police.
ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES
- Acts as custodian of school crosswalks when and where assigned
- Exercise professional customer service through positive public interactions.
- Interacts with children.
- Observe traffic flow and determine best timing for crossing pedestrians.
- Establish a safe crossing within the confines of a school crosswalk for pedestrians.
- Use a handheld stop sign.
- Verbally communicate with pedestrians, other crossing guards, and police officers.
- Physically communicate with motorists.
- Prepare written reports
- Attend training and meetings as assigned.
- Provide safe crossing of school children and other pedestrians.
- Keep traffic flowing without long delays during school hours.
- Apply pedestrian traffic laws.
- Learn, display, and maintain all skills, knowledge, and abilities for the performance of all duties and responsibilities, as established by the Chief of Police.
- Act quickly, calmly, and decisively in certain situations involving the safety of others.
- Aid in reporting of any emergencies or vehicle code violations during school hours.
- Wear SCPD issued reflective vests.
- Place SCPD issued traffic cones at appropriate locations at the school crosswalk.
- Activate flashing lights when assigned a school crosswalk at a reduced speed school zone.
- Use appropriately the SCPD issued handheld stop sign.
- Keep all SCPD issued equipment and clothing clean and functional.
- Maintains all training and certification requirements.
- Arrive at the designated school crosswalk promptly on time.
- Remain at the designated school crosswalk as set by the Executive Assistant.
- Maintain professional composure when dealing with high-risk situations.
- Act as the SCPD representative at designated school crosswalks when those crosswalks are in operation for school crossings.
- Acts decisively as to when to enter the school crosswalk and stopping traffic.
- Answers questions from community members concerning the department’s emphasis on safety at crosswalks.
- Welcomes on-site visitors and determines the nature of their business.
- Assist police officers in furthering the investigative process by helping in identifying motorists violating school crosswalk laws.
- Be alert to and report any suspicious activity or persons at or near a school crosswalk.
- Passes information to officers through phone calls, text messages, and face-to-face communique.
- Assists the Executive Assistant to the Chief of Police in functions as assigned.
- Successfully pass a background check prior to each beginning school year.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE AND CERTIFICATIONS
- High school Diploma or GED equivalent preferred.
- Recommend participation advanced first-responder training
- Maintain all certifications required by state and federal guidelines.
- Attend advanced training courses.
NECESSARY KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES
Knowledge:
- Knowledge of basic equipment used by SCPD such as phones, life saving devices, types of cones, and reflective vests.
Skills:
- Skill in establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with children, parents, school officials, law enforcement officers, agents of the court, and community members.
- Comprehend and follow complex written and verbal instructions.
Abilities:
- Ability to speak effectively using the English language.
- Write routine reports.
- Effectively present information and respond to questions from attorneys and supervisors.
- Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, operating and maintenance instructions, procedure manuals, or governmental regulations.
- Ability to write reports.
- Ability to identify numbers and letters in sequence, add, subtract, multiply, and divide in simple units of measure using whole numbers.
- Ability to define and solve practical problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions
- Ability to interpret a variety of concrete variables in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS/WORK ENVIRONMENT
While performing the duties of this job, the School Crossing Guard may be intermittently exposed to environmental factors with exposure varying in frequency, intensity and duration:
- Exposure to fluctuating dust, noise, and odor conditions.
- Upset, angry, disgruntled, agitated, and/or mentally ill citizens.
- Moving vehicular traffic
- Children of various ages walking, riding bicycles or scooters, to school or returning home from school.
- Established set times during the day.
- Due to the fluctuation in frequency, intensity, and duration of assignments, some periods of moderate to high stress are expected.
While performing the essential functions of this job, the employee is required, with intermittent and/or frequent occasion, to:
- Stand for extended periods of time.
- Walk forward and backward.
- Turnabout, and twist at waist while using hand motions.
- Reach, use hands to finger, handle, and lift and/or move up to 25 pounds, with an occasional need to lift and/or move 50 pounds or more.
- Hold stationary for a couple of minutes a handheld stop sign above head.
- Read, listen, and speak.
- Hand to eye coordination.
Essential functions as determined under the Americans with Disabilities Act, may include the following duties, responsibilities, tasks, and other characteristics. This list of duties, responsibilities, and tasks is illustrative only, and is not a comprehensive listing of all functions and tasks performed by this position. The approved specifications are not intended to and do not infer or create an employment, compensation, or contract right to any person(s). The Chief of Police reserves the right to add or change duties at any time.
Job closes on September 7, 2026