By Joel Ceausu
The Suburban
Joanne Herbut is chill, in the chill. Smart, layered, and always on the move, the 58-year-old NDG resident stands watch at Girouard and N.D.G. Avenue. The school crossing guard (brigadier scolaire) outside the district’s busiest school steps off the curb, eyes darting back and forth, head on a pivot, STOP sign raised, and marches briskly into the intersection of bike and car lanes, where hundreds of kids, parents, pets and strollers make their way through the carrefour while buses, bikes, cars and trucks idle in the cold morning air.
“This is my fifth year at the corner,” Herbut told The Suburban on a frigid Wednesday morning, amid dozens of ‘bonjours,’ ‘good mornings’ and little grins peeking through scarves outside École Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.
She moves fast so people can move slow, and like many full-time guards, does four hours in three shifts per day: before school, lunchtime and after school. She began on call at Décarie and N.D.G. and after six weeks moved over to this permanent spot.
Herbut has watched kids swathed in strollers go to walking with parents, then walking alone. “They are great, but when they start walking on their own it can be challenging. Like, they don’t understand the consequences, so they take chances, but still need some reminders. And they test you,” she laughs.
For 25 years Herbut worked in special needs education and after taking some time off, decided to get back into the workforce when a friend suggested crossing guard. “I never thought about it but one day I was doing some errands and stopped to speak to a crossing guard and asked some questions.” The job suited her to a ‘T’. “I love working with the community, meeting people and being outside. I’m not the type that can sit at a desk inside all day.”
There are 525 permanent and 134 surplus guards in the city, says SPVM communications agent Caroline Labelle, and 538 active school crossings, “but as our personnel are not evenly distributed across the island, we are always recruiting to ensure maximum coverage of each area and safety for all children.”
Future crossing guards receive a one-day training course given by the SPVM, consisting of theoretical and practical components, based on the SAAQ (Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec) guide. Candidates undergo a medical exam and security check. Starting salary is $20.52 per hour and guards work about 20 hours a week. (On-call may vary.) All gear is supplied, summers and spring break are off, and schedules vary depending on crossing.
Station 9 Commander Stéphane Desroches says the shortage of guards “affects this district, where we have 21 pedestrian school crossings and 50 schools, but there is always someone staffing a crossing,” he told The Suburban. “Always.” That may mean bringing in patrol cops, “or calling in our cadre of cadets or reservists (retired officers).”
Herbut says the important skills are “being friendly, very diligent and observant,” and channels her patience that’s served her for years. “Some days are more challenging than others, but the community is amazing.” She smiles at a family with an exuberant dog in tow. “A mini bonus of this job is all the beautiful dogs I get to meet.” Local city councillor Peter McQueen says Herbut “is a great brigadier and all the parents and students at N.D.G. school appreciate her.”
The toughest thing working outside a school with some 900 young students on a busy artery “is dealing with drivers with a sense of entitlement. I’m sorry to have to say that.” She’s never had a dangerous interaction, but she has had to be assertive, and received some rather rude comments. “Sometimes I think my patience is my salvation and I don’t know why I’m surprised, but I am still surprised.” n