Brandy Tenney has been a West Jordan crossing guard for over 26 years. She started when she was pregnant with her first child and planned to do it for a few years until her kids were in preschool. Fast forward to 2024, her oldest was just married and she is still crossing kids all over the city.

“I’ll see kids go all the way from elementary through high school,” Tenney said. “Some kids will say, ‘Brandy, guess what, I got this car!’ and I think ‘I crossed you in 2nd grade! You get to know your community really well and I love that. It’s really fun.”

Getting to know the kids you cross is one of the highlights of being a crossing guard, but the job is much more; Crossing guards are the watchdogs of the community. From speeders, road ragers, to distracted drivers, streets are dangerous even with kids around.  “If you watch people, you wouldn’t believe how many people are looking down,” Tenney said. “It’s really scary. They’re not fully present in their driving.”

During one shift this fall, Tenney saw a caution cone get run over at least seven times in just 30 minutes. Crossing guards are very important for keeping kids safe when they cross the street. First and foremost, they make kids more visible. They can also ask the police to help monitor and catch distracted and dangerous drivers.

Even after spending over two decades serving the community’s children, her own son was severely injured when he was crossing the street. The driver was distracted and hit her son with the car’s rear-view mirror.

“The driver was going 41. Not necessarily speeding but definitely ran a red light,” Tenney said.

“It broke his collar bones, six of his ribs, arm. He had internal bleeding by his spleen, lacerations,and a broken bone in his eye socket. He was in the hospital for about a week.”

This is a clear reminder to watch where you are driving at all times. Saving one minute on the road is not worth harming a human being. You can help prevent every accident by paying attention to the road, not to your phone, your schedule or the kids in the back seat.

Want to be a crossing guard for West Jordan? Visit our hiring page.