A crosswalk DJ has turned Eldon Road in front of Cleveland Elementary into his own Abbey Road.
Christian Behnke, a parent volunteer at the school who also works as a DJ, was recently named one of Canada’s top three favourite crossing guards.
Spinning tunes to hype the kids up about road safety is one of the reasons a fellow parent put Behnke’s name forward for the annual contest sponsored by the national injury-prevention charity, Parachute.
Behnke tells the News he was surprised to win the award, explaining how he ended up in the crosswalk role because he looked the part.
While walking his kids to school four years ago, Behnke was approached by a parent volunteer who told him, “Hey, you’re standing around the front of the school – would you like to volunteer with the safety patrol?”
He started off supervising the student crossing guards with other volunteer parents. One year later Behnke was running the safety patrol show and overseeing about 45 student patrollers and a small team of parents.
Technically, Behnke is not a crossing guard. But there was no national award for favourite safety patrol co-ordinator.
“The kids are the real crossing guards,” explains Behnke, whose job it is to train the intermediate Cleveland students for the role, using reference materials from BCAA, and supervise them on the street.
Behnke says he motivates the kids to volunteer, including his son Jordan, by telling them it’s a meaningful job to keep fellow students safe. There’s also the promise of a pizza party.
Lessons learned in the crosswalk include assertiveness, responsibility and independence. The power the students possess by wielding a stop sign and commanding a car gives them a rush, according to Behnke.
There’s a salient piece of advice Behnke imparts on the young guards: “Keep your eyes on the drivers.”
While most parent drivers get a gold star, some could do with detention.
“They tend to pretend the rules are for somebody else,” says Behnke.
Eldon is a quiet road mainly populated by Cleveland parent drivers. In Behnke’s experience, it can be hard keeping some of them in check.
Behnke has witnessed parents using their cellphones while driving or blowing past a stop sign being held up by a child in the crosswalk.
“Everyone’s got a busy life,” says Behnke. “They’re all rushing to go from one thing to the next. If I had one message it would be: Just take your time, slow down.”
Behnke is a Cleveland Elementary alumnus himself who relished walking to school through the tree-lined neighbourhood.
“My parents never drove me because we lived close enough,” recalls Behnke.
It’s a different story at Cleveland these days as it has become a French immersion school, which means students are coming from outside the catchment area.
Behnke will bring in his turntables for events that encourage students to walk or roll to school, spreading his love of music to the crosswalk. He sets up the speakers and DJs for the students while they are arriving at school.
Many Cleveland students have expressed their appreciation for the “cool” safety patrol leader.
Cleveland vice-principal Leslie McGuire, in her letter of recommendation for the award, wrote that in her 27 years of teaching she has never seen a parent volunteer work as hard as Behnke, “all with a smile and a dance or two.”
A torrent of glowing commendations for Behnke accompanied the award application, with one parent calling him “a saint and a super devoted dad at our school.”
Jeneen Sutherland, the Cleveland parent who nominated Behnke for the national honour, says the school’s safety patrol operation wasn’t always smooth sailing – until the tall DJ stepped into the crosswalk.
“I think it’s just his easy-going nature,” says Sutherland, of what allows Behnke to earn the students’ respect. “He’s a pretty cool guy. The kids genuinely like hanging out with him.”
While hard to believe, keeping the students safe on the street is a pretty thankless job, explains Sutherland.
“There are some drivers who really don’t treat the student patrollers with the respect that they deserve,” she says. “It’s pretty crazy out there sometimes.”
Sutherland’s daughter Madeleine is a student patroller and says Behnke deserves the award because he’s an important member of the school community.
Behnke is also well-known in the Handsworth family of schools, showing up with his turntables to get students energized for their Walk & Roll events.
The “Tall Music” DJ spins all kinds of events, from weddings to corporate gigs, and was recently recognized at a 50th birthday party in West Vancouver he was working.
“He held up his phone and said, ‘Is this you?’” recounts Behnke.
Word has gotten out online that he’s Canada favourite crossing guard.
Many parents, some he’s never really spoken to before, now view Behnke as a celebrity at Cleveland.
Canada's three favourite crossing guards (the other two are from Ontario) received a crystal maple leaf award and $500. As well, each winner’s school receives $500.
Behnke was presented with his award at a parent appreciation breakfast at Cleveland Elementary on May 29.
Standing 6-5, one wonders if Behnke is an imposing figure to drivers in the crosswalk.
“Yeah, maybe,” he says. “But I’m not trying to intimidate. I’m a friendly giant.”
