What does a school crossing guard do?
A school crossing guard is an adult whose work is to ensure the safety of students and any other pedestrian or cyclist as they cross the road while heading or coming from school. They encourage safety for all people crossing the road around the school premises. Their duties and responsibilities include applying traffic law knowledge and signals to direct both pedestrians and vehicle drivers to ensure safety.
School crossing guard responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real school crossing guard resumes:
- Monitor and operate CCTV and audio recording devices.
- Monitor CCTV of warehouse and truck lots with empty and load trailors.
- Patrol all properties own by DPS and ensure a safe environment for all students and staff.
- Driver-Perform operator/crew maintenance on the ammunition resupply vehicle and trailer.
- Verify that everyone has the required PPE, such as hard hat, safety glasses, and steel toe boots.
School crossing guard skills and personality traits
We calculated that 16% of School Crossing Guards are proficient in Patrol, Safety Procedures, and Good Judgment.
We break down the percentage of School Crossing Guards that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patrol, 16%
School Patrol * Direct school zone traffic in a safe, lawful, and efficient manner.
- Safety Procedures, 12%
Served as school crossing guard assisting school-aged children; worked productively with children, parents and staff members utilizing safety procedures.
- Good Judgment, 11%
Observed traffic flow using good judgment in overseeing children safety.
- Traffic Laws, 9%
Provided excellent service while abiding by the traffic laws and maintaining the integrity of the NYPD.
- Pedestrian Traffic, 9%
Guided or controlled vehicular/ pedestrian traffic at such places as street and railroad crossings and construction sites.
- Law Enforcement, 8%
Direct Traffic Skills Used Law enforcement
"patrol," "safety procedures," and "good judgment" are among the most common skills that school crossing guards use at work. You can find even more school crossing guard responsibilities below, including:
Communication skills. The most essential soft skill for a school crossing guard to carry out their responsibilities is communication skills. This skill is important for the role because "security guards and surveillance officers must communicate effectively with others, even in stressful situations." Additionally, a school crossing guard resume shows how their duties depend on communication skills: "help ensure the safety of children crossing the street having communication with children and parents ensuring children follow the safety rules"
The three companies that hire the most school crossing guards are:
- NEXTAFF5 school crossing guards jobs
- Bath & Body Works2 school crossing guards jobs
- Town of Flower Mound2 school crossing guards jobs
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Compare different school crossing guards
School crossing guard vs. Flagger
A flagger is an employee who is hired by government agencies or construction companies to control the flow of traffic around road construction sites. To control the flow of traffic, flaggers must erect warning signs and position traffic cones and barricades to guide drivers through the traffic flow. They are responsible for informing the construction crew of any issues that may affect their safety. Flaggers are also required to record the license plate numbers of motorists who did not obey traffic signs and directions.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between school crossing guards and flagger. For instance, school crossing guard responsibilities require skills such as "patrol," "safety procedures," "good judgment," and "traffic laws." Whereas a flagger is skilled in "work ethic," "vehicular traffic," "asphalt," and "traffic flow." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Flaggers really shine in the construction industry with an average salary of $30,808. Comparatively, school crossing guards tend to make the most money in the utilities industry with an average salary of $40,126.flaggers tend to reach similar levels of education than school crossing guards. In fact, flaggers are 1.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.School crossing guard vs. Flagman
Each career also uses different skills, according to real school crossing guard resumes. While school crossing guard responsibilities can utilize skills like "patrol," "safety procedures," "good judgment," and "traffic laws," flagmen use skills like "track safety," "fra," "traffic control devices," and "train crews."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Flagmen tend to reach similar levels of education than school crossing guards. In fact, they're 1.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.School crossing guard vs. Construction flagger
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from school crossing guard resumes include skills like "patrol," "safety procedures," "good judgment," and "traffic laws," whereas a construction flagger is more likely to list skills in "traffic cones," "warning devices," "dot," and "safety regulations. "
Most construction flaggers achieve a similar degree level compared to school crossing guards. For example, they're 2.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.School crossing guard vs. Rail signal worker
Types of school crossing guard
Updated January 8, 2025
