Crossing Guard Wins Award
A Belated Literacy Role Model

By MIA GOLDBERG

Debra Leach, 50, who dropped out of school in the 11th grade, has returned to school, both literally and figuratively. Three years ago, she enrolled in an adult literacy program, and is now an NYPD School Crossing Guard being honored for her achievements.

A LATE BLOOMBER: Debra Leach, who three years ago was found to be reading at a 4th-grade level, has improved enough that the 50-year-old School Crossing Guard is receiving an award from an organization that promotes adult education and literacy.

Ms. Leach, who grew up in East New York, left school when she was 15.

"I dropped out because I wanted to do what I wanted to do," she said during an April 17 interview. "I was rebellious and I didn't want to go to school." With few options, she began working as a machine operator in a Queens plastics factory. After 29 years, the factory closed.

'Had to Find a Way'

"I was out of a job. My husband had cancer. No one was left to take care of me. I had to find a way to make it on my own," she said. She found the answer while riding on a bus.

"I saw the sign for Literacy Partners, and I knew. After being out of school so long, I had to do it," said Ms. Leach.

Literacy Partners offers free lessons to adults. Initial testing revealed that Ms. Leach had the reading skills of a 4th grader. She went to classes twice a week, and after 1-1/2 years, she was ready for a new job.

Wanting to be around kids, she applied for a job as a School Crossing Guard, not an easy task considering the mountain of paperwork. But now, she mans the corner of Nostrand Ave. and Empire Blvd. in Bedford Stuyvesant for I.S. 61.

At 50 and a widow, she says she is blessed.

"I love my job," she said. "I'm a new person. Learning to read has opened new doors."

While she has no children of her own, she considers herself a mother to all those who cross her streets. "I see that my kids don't get hurt. I make sure they get home safe. And they all know that there is no cursing on my corner."

Honored for Progress

Ms. Leach continues her classes at Literacy Partners. She has been named the "Outstanding Adult Basic Education & General Education Development Learner" by the Commission on Adult Basic Education, a worldwide organization that promotes adult education and literacy. She was nominated by the staff at Literacy Partners.

"Students like Debra are the reason we come to work every day," said Susan A. McLean, the program's executive director, in a press statement. "She is a role model for other students ... and we are so proud of her."

Ms. Leach is thrilled about the attention, because it gives her a forum to tell her story.

"You have to get it out," she said. "I was wrong to leave school. I tell my kids that and now I can tell others."

She is working towards her GED and hopes to become a social worker.

Ms. Leach will be honored at an award banquet April 30 in St. Louis. It will be her first time on an airplane.