For the past 21 years Schapairo has been a fixture at the corner of Lincoln and Minnesota avenues, helping Willow Glen Elementary School (WGES) students and others cross the street safely. She returns each year because she loves children, enjoys working outdoors, and the people are friendly, she says.

Wearing an orange vest, white gloves and a black baseball cap, she waits for the light to turn green, makes sure traffic has stopped, blows her whistle, walks into the intersection, holds up her stop sign and waves children, parents and other residents across the street.

Photograph by Sean Penello Stop, Look and Listen: Gloria Schapairo guides children and their parents safely across this busy Willow Glen intersection daily.

"Gloria was the crossing guard when Stormy's mom was her age," says Kaiser's father, Vince Hernandez. "Even when we drive by she waves hello. She's so friendly."

The SJPD employs approximately 180 crossing guards in the city of San Jose, four of whom are in Willow Glen.

At Curtner and Booksin avenues, two guards help schoolchildren from St. Christopher School and Booksin Elementary School cross the street.

Before working as a crossing guard on the streets, guards must go through a two-hour training program, which includes watching a video on the proper procedure for crossing at a variety of different intersections, says SJPD school safety coordinator Georgette Branham. After the initial video training, the rookie guard gets hands-on training and goes to different intersections for five days, working with an experienced crossing guard.

But the process for requesting a crossing guard at any school is quite extensive, Branham says.

First, a principal calls the San Jose Department of Streets and Traffic to request a guard. Then the School, Safety and Pedestrian Safety Board reviews the area and decides whether it needs a guard. If a guard is deemed necessary, coordinators at the SJPD School Safety Program will hire and train the guard.

Because Lincoln Avenue is a thoroughfare in Willow Glen, two guards normally work on the corners near WGES. Schapairo recalls when there was only a two-way stop, instead of four-way, and when there were more accidents and dangers that came with the job.

The main danger now is drivers rolling through a right-hand turn on a red light, which can often be "dicey," says Scott Mesa, who picks up his daughter Madeline at WGES before walking to get his son at a nearby preschool.

"We are often asked why we have guards out when there's a traffic signal," Branham says. "The signals actually provide a false sense of security. Intersections can still be very dangerous, especially if people are making right-hand turns on red lights."

Crossing guards are also needed at WGES because the school lacks adequate parking for parents dropping off or picking up their children. The school does have a staff parking lot, but space is limited, even for employees, says WGES clerical assistant Anita Giluso.

"Parking was a problem even when my daughter went to school here 15 years ago," Giluso says.

So instead of parking or dropping their children off on campus, many parents park in the shopping center lots across the street. Some parents choose to jaywalk—despite suggestions in the school newsletter not to and the presence of extra police officers patrolling the area, Giluso says.

Photograph by Sean Penello Good Morning: Children and parents walking to Willow Glen Elementary School wave and greet Gloria Schapairo.

"I was flipped off by a lady who said she didn't need me to tell her to stop," says Argentina Araica, who works with Schapairo. "People are always in a hurry. When they speed, it makes crossing the kids hard to do."

The crossing guard job is a part-time, paid position. Last fiscal year the SJPD spent $947,921 filling crossing guard positions throughout the city.

Don Atienza, 64, has guarded Booksin and Curtner avenues for four years. He sees close to 40 students daily, most from St. Christopher School and some from Booksin Elementary, he says. Atienza, who has grown children of his own, says he enjoys interacting with the students.

Several schools in the Willow Glen community, including Booksin Elementary, participate in another part of the SJPD School Safety Program, called Safety Patrol.

Since 1990, Booksin Elementary second-grade teacher Darrell Martinez has trained fourth- and fifth-grade students to be volunteer crossing guards. The students assist the adult crossing guard in their responsibilities.

Holding a six-foot yellow pole with a stop sign on top and blowing a whistle, Danielle DeShazo helps classmates cross Dry Creek Road at Booksin Avenue.

"This is important because, without us here, someone might have an accident with a car," says DeShazo.

The 20-member team rotates every two weeks. The perks of the job include free ice cream every 10 days, ribbons provided by the SJPD and a swim party at the end of the year.

Although more students are driven to school nowadays, Martinez counts close to 40 walkers daily. Many students walk to school in the morning and are picked up when school lets out, says Booksin Assistant Principal Cyndi Carter.

"Safety Patrol builds self-esteem, gives the students a sense of responsibility and adds to their personality," Martinez says.

Eddie Farrington, 25, recalls his fifth-grade year at WGES, when he was on Safety Patrol with Schapairo. He still crosses the same intersection to say hello to his old friend. The school stopped the student portion of the program for safety reasons, Branham says.

Photograph by Sean Penello Watching the Roads: The intersection of Minnesota and Lincoln avenues has gotten so busy during the past decade that children are no longer allowed to be part of the school safety patrol program established by SJPD.

Fourth-graders Dominique Porras and Jada Florence say Schapairo helps them feel safe while crossing the street.

As Tauni Barreras crosses the street, she asks her son Justin, "Did you wave to the crossing guard?"