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Nassau County Sheriff’s Office with school crossing guards. Submitted photo
You may have spotted Lesia Waldrip wearing her neon yellow safety vest with her whistle in hand, holding a stop sign outside Emma Love Elementary School in Fernandina Beach.
That’s because Waldrip is a school crossing guard, and half of the year she spends her morning outside the school before the sun even rises, eagerly awaiting the arrival of children heading to school.
She starts each new school year by teaching all her young children how to stop and look both ways before they cross the street.
“It’s just nice to be out in the open, and I get to meet a lot of wonderful people,” says Waldrip.
The Nassau County Sheriff’s Office is looking for more people like Waldrip, who want to become school crossing guards. The sheriff’s office needs to hire at least five more positions to help children get to and from school safely.
Waldrip became a school crossing guard with the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office in 2014.
“It’s a great job. Probably the best job I’ve ever had. We’re able to get out with nature twice a day. The shifts are very short. And we just have a lot of fun getting to interact with the children, parents, the school personnel and resource officers,” she said.
School crossing guards are assigned to schools in Hilliard, Callahan, Yulee and Fernandina Beach, where hazards may exist for children trying to cross the street.
School crossing guards are non-certified law enforcement members of the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office and must have successfully completed the Florida Department of Transportation certification standards.
Waldrip has been working as a school crossing guard for nearly a decade, and she encourages others who maybe retired or just looking for something to do to go ahead and give it try.
“Gets me out of the house, off the couch and off the computer. Just makes for a great start to the morning,” Waldrip said.
If you’re interested in become a crossing guard with the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office, you can reach out to our human resources department at 904-548-4012 or humanresources@nassauso.com.
