Velma B. Hamilton Middle School Kids Will No Longer Benefit from Elementary School Crossing Guards

Starting this school year, none of the MMSD middle schools will have start and end times that match those of elementary schools. This impacts those schools where elementary and middle schools share the same location. As a parent with a child attending Velma B. Hamilton Middle School, this means my middle schooler will no longer benefit from the crossing guards who are hired to help elementary school students safely cross busy intersections like Mineral Point Road and Segoe Road.

The city of Madison’s policy for placing crossing guards only at elementary schools’ dates to 1972 when the Madison Metropolitan School District reorganized the grades to be K-5 for elementary, 6-8 for middle, and grades 9-12 for high school. In the past, middle schools had crossing guards present if they were located next to an elementary school with similar school start/end times. This had been the case until this school year for Velma B. Hamilton Middle School, which shares a location with Van Hise Elementary School. 

I have received many emails from residents worried about the absence of a crossing guard at the intersection of Segoe Road and Mineral Point Road, questioning if this impacts all grade levels. This concern arose after Velma B. Hamilton Middle School principal James Kamoku sent a newsletter to parents on August 20th stating, “This year our start time of 9:00 am is later than the elementary start time. Therefore, we will not have crossing guards at crosswalks to help our scholars before and after school. Please remind your scholar to stop and look both ways before crossing. If your scholar is walking and time permits, please review safe walking routes you want your scholar to take to get to and from Hamilton.”

I have been reassured by city staff that for students attending Van Hise Elementary school, there will be a will be a crossing guard at the Segoe Road and Mineral Point Road intersection from 7:35 - 8:35 am Monday through Friday and 1:35 - 2:35 on Mondays and 3:05 - 4:05 pm Tuesday through Friday. City staff reported they will be working closely with Velma B. Hamilton Middle School throughout the year to provide support to help middle school students safely walk and bike to and from school. Their efforts include educating students on safe walking and biking practices, deploying mobile speed boards to remind drivers to slow down, ensuring crosswalk lights are LED for better visibility during the darker fall and winter months, and coordinating with the city’s Traffic Enforcement and Safety Team (TEST) to provide safety support in the area.

What can we do?

The Transportation Commission has discussed the Middle School crossing guard issue twice – once on November 9, 2023 when the first middle school start/end times changes in Madison occurred last year  and then again on June 12, 2024  as part of a larger consideration of the overall 1972 Crossing Guard Policy.

• "Presentation on East/North Middle School Start Time Change"  11/8/23 - (View) 
• "Presentation on Crossing Guard Policy" 6/12/24 – (View)  
  (Note: on page 33 of the presentation starts the specific middle school related items).

The presentation on East/North Middle School Start Time Change includes information on the budget for one crossing guard location which is around $7,500 per location. Ultimately last year no funding was added for any of the East/North side middle schools to have a crossing guard although it was discussed.

I will stay in my lane, but I hope those serving on the Transportation Commission will continue to work on updating the 1972 Crossing Guard policy and redefining who the program should serve. I encourage all of you to continue writing to me about this issue and attend Madison Metropolitan School District board meetings and City of Madison’s Transportation Commission meetings to let them know that funding for crossing guards at both elementary and middle schools is an important safety issue for our community.  As a final point, it’s evident that crossing guards alone cannot ensure the safety of school-age kids crossing busy streets like Mineral Point Road. We need a more robust traffic enforcement presence in our city to tackle reckless driving and those speeding in school zones.