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Pytrce was a natural fit, smart and responsible. She learned quickly that little kids are especially antsy, and has to constantly remind them that until she gives the signal, they have to stay out of the bright yellow crosswalk. "Feet off the yellow!" she commands. And she means it.
With more than 700 kids struck and killed by cars in 2003, the School Safety Patrol Program, launched by AAA decades ago, "is a safe system," says Stephanie Campbell, an art teacher who volunteers for the program, directing traffic outside the school. There's just one condition, she adds: "Students, teachers, safety patrol members and drivers all have to pay attention."
On October 4, 2004, when the last bell of the day rang at 2:50 p.m., students grabbed their backpacks and tumbled out the doors into a warm fall afternoon. Pytrce was one of the first kids outside. Wearing her fluorescent electric-lime belt and shoulder strap -- identifying her as a member of the safety patrol -- the fifth-grader stood vigilantly at the edge of the parking lot, where parents were arriving to pick up their children.
"It's very hectic out there," says Gayle Gepert, who helps administer the School Safety Patrol Program. Of the 535 students who attend this neighborhood school, only about 60 ride the two buses, and another 100 walk. Instead, most get rides from their parents -- which means hundreds of cars and SUVs jockeying for position every afternoon as kids, some barely fender high, watch for familiar vehicles. It's daily controlled chaos.
Pytrce watched closely as Stephanie Campbell directed two lanes of traffic. When Campbell signaled that it was safe for students to head to waiting cars, Pytrce let them pass. The rest of the time, as the teacher waved traffic forward, Pytrce stood with her arms straight out in a clear message: Don't walk.
Gabriel Dickson was tagging along behind his nine-year-old sister, Nova, while they waited for their ride home. Everybody agrees six-year-old Gabriel is a good kid. He's a Cub Scout and has been chosen Student of the Month more than once for his way-above-average classroom behavior. He was already reading two years ahead of his grade level. But that Monday, like any first-grader at the end of a long day, he was ready to go home.
When brother and sister got to the sidewalk, Gabriel stood patiently as Pytrce kept a cluster of students waiting. But one, two, three minutes went by. For reasons he can't quite explain, Gabriel stepped off the sidewalk and into the street. He didn't realize he'd walked right into moving traffic.
A Dodge minivan, driven by another student's mom, was in the near lane, just two feet away. As the two-ton van headed straight for the little boy, everyone froze -- everyone except Pytrce.
Three teachers watched in shock. "Our hearts were in our throats," remembers Gepert. "We were too far away to do anything." Pytrce was Gabriel's only hope. Fortunately, she'd paid attention during safety patrol training, and although she'd never imagined a moment like this one, Pytrce was calm. She knew she had to reach Gabriel before he took another step -- one more second, and they'd both be in the street, and there wouldn't be enough time to get back to the curb. Without hesitating, Pytrce leaned out into the road, grabbed Gabriel and yanked him back. The van, now only inches away, jerked to a stop.
Back on the sidewalk, Gabriel was too shocked to speak. Only later did he come to understand that Pytrce saved his life. He learned his lesson: "I should stay on the sidewalk."
Determined that Pytrce should be recognized for her bravery, Gayle Gepert nominated her for the AAA School Safety Patrol Lifesaving Medal. This prestigious award has been presented to fewer than 400 kids. This year, just five others will receive the medal, handed out by another hero, a firefighter who battled the September 11 blaze at the World Trade Center.
Gabriel also remembered one thing that made the day even more special. "I almost forgot -- it was my mom's birthday!" As Lisa Dickson will tell you, Pytrce gave her the best present a mother could ask for.
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