The Kearny School District on Tuesday, Feb. 10, honored those who help keep students safe each and every day during a Crossing Guard Appreciation Day. All five elementary schools, along with the middle school, participated.
The celebration took place in partnership with the Kearny Police Department, directed by Lt. David Rakowski, who oversees the traffic division and works closely with schools to ensure student safety.
“Together, these partnerships help reinforce an important message: safety is a shared responsibility and our crossing guards play an essential role in protecting our school community every day,” Superintendent of Schools Flora Encarnacao said.
The guards include:
Roosevelt School
Eusebio Huerta and Mindy Gomes
Schuyler School
Cheryl Jahera, J.T. Whitlock, Florence Isabella, Nicole Vilardo, Walt Mikulewicz and Natalie Speck
Lincoln School
Ivonne Grajales, Isana Medina, Joyce Rowlands, Isabella Quinde, Nancy Grioli, Zofia Ventoso and Lizette Sanchez
Washington School
Jessica Hernandez, Ada Boney, Michele DiGravina, Marian Payne, Pamela Kenyon and Arturo Gonzalez
Garfield School
Pamela Washington and Maria Matos
Franklin School
Maria Vega, Pete Greb, Elaine Doran, Tatiana Reis, Monica Andrade, Max Povolotsky, Mary Gary and Kujtesa Berisha
Reserve Crossing Guards
Norma Lima, Robert Chesney, Ana deBrito, Maria DePaula and Nicole Sabbagh
Learn more about the writer ...
Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.