TULSA — "By the time I looked to my right again, it just happened. By the time I stepped off the curb, I was hit. I didn't even know what happened," said Larhonda Steve, the crossing guard at Tulsa's Eliot Elementary School.
That was a few years ago when Steve lived in California. A car hit her as she was walking out of a post office. She told 2 News by a stroke of fate, she didn't break any bones, she was just shaken up.
Since then, she's had two hip replacements. While she was recovering, her aunt, also a crossing guard, said she should give the gig a try.
This job is Steve's only source of income, but the pay is not the real reward.
"Seeing my babies smile … I love kids," Steve said.
And she returns those smiles.
We stood across the street and filmed Steve for several minutes. She beamed the whole time.
"You know, we have a really dedicated group," said Kurt Kraft, the City of Tulsa's traffic engineer.
"We've been understaffed since right before COVID," Kraft said.
Now, he's in charge of hiring 15 more crossing guards. The City provides a crossing guard to schools in the Tulsa, Union and Jenks districts; focusing on elementary sites. As the school year gets underway, kids and parents at fifteen schools are on their own.
"Most of them just really love it and love the kids," Kraft said.
"Please come out and protect the kids, and it's a joy every day," Steve said.
Interested applicants can expect to work two shifts in a day, both lasting about 2 hours. The pay starts at $10 per hour.
Click here to visit the City of Tulsa's job site, where the crossing guard applications are located.
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