Our teams work year-round to improve safety at San Francisco schools. That includes crossing guards who support more than 90 campuses citywide.
As students across the city head back to class, our teams have been working hard to make sure their trips are safe and reliable.
Our Crossing Guard Program is a service we provide to schools and an important part of our work to help students get to and from school safely. Crossing guards are beloved by students, parents, caregivers and neighbors – and right now, we are facing a shortage.
While there have been no cuts to the roughly $4 million crossing guard program, we are dealing with significant financial constraints. This caused a hiring slowdown. We also faced higher than usual turnover for these temporary, seasonal roles.
Our teams understand the vital role crossing guards play in school communities throughout San Francisco and the importance of every location they serve.
That’s why we are working as quickly as we can to restore crossing guard coverage to last year’s levels. Learn what we are doing immediately to maximize coverage across the city.
Every day, crossing guards currently provide about 400 hundred hours of coverage at school intersection across San Francisco.
Serving schools across the city: The latest on our crossing guard program
We currently have 155 crossing guards on duty covering 91 schools (public and private). Collectively, they provide about 400 hours of coverage every day. Their work helps students, parents, teachers and others navigate intersections near schools.
Unfortunately, we still face a crossing guard shortage. There are 17 public schools and four private schools that had a crossing guard last year but do not have one this year. We are working with SFUSD to notify impacted schools.
We are also taking a series of steps to:
- Immediately prioritize areas with the greatest need
- Maximize existing coverage citywide as we work to meet last year’s staffing level
Here are the details:
Immediate shift changes: More coverage at the most critical times
Starting Sept. 2, we are splitting some crossing guard shifts so that staff can serve more than one corner while on duty. This is possible because different schools start and end at different times.
This step will help us ensure there is coverage at the most critical times – peak arrival and dismissal periods. It will also help us maintain coverage at most locations that had guards last year.
Support from SFMTA staff: Coverage at schools across the city
By mid-September, current SFMTA staff will also provide coverage at most of the remaining locations that do not have guards. These staff will be trained to cover school crossings until permanent guards can be hired and assigned to support safer school journeys.
Long-term solutions: Ramp up hiring and training to restore coverage
We are also actively ramping up the hiring process from our existing candidate pool. This way, we can expediate hiring and training new crossing guards. Our goal is to meet last year’s level of guards by the end of 2025.
Our Safe Routes to School Program is a key way we support students, teachers and families year-round.
Prioritizing safety as we empower communities
Improving safety at city schools is a top priority at our agency. As we work to strengthen our crossing guard program, we continue to make progress creating safer conditions near schools.
Safer, clearer intersections:
Our safety upgrades include:
- Ensuring all 2,000 school intersections across the city have "daylighting" (no cars parked right by crosswalks) to make it easier for drivers to see students and others crossing streets. More upgrades ongoing throughout the year.
- Establishing 15 mph school zone speed limits at 100% of eligible schools
- Completing 500 school crossing and pedestrian signage improvements
- Helping to reduce speeds through speed cameras, with 8 speed cameras located close to schools
- Providing mid-block traffic calming within 1000 feet of schools on almost 600 streets
Empowered communities:
We are also focusing on education and empowerment through our Safe Routes to Schools Program.
Through Safe Routes to School, we have engaged more than 80 SFUSD schools and:
- Distributed 5,000 items (helmets, reflective gear, bike bells and lights) to support safe school trips
- Offered more than 200 activities last school year that support safe journeys to class, including:
- Walking School Buses
- Bike P.E. Classes
- Bike Ride & Learn-to-Ride events
- Street safety strolls
- Annual Muni, Walk and Bike to School celebrations
Every day, we will continue to support the needs of students, families and teachers across the city – that is our commitment. As we work to restore crossing guard staffing levels, we will partner closely with local schools and continue to do everything we can to maximize coverage citywide.