Kayla Allen, gifted and talented teacher for kindergarten to fourth grade at Bullard Elementary, dresses up as the Queen of England for her morning traffic duty on Friday, Sept. 2. Less than a week later, Britain's longest-reigning monarch Queen Elizabeth II passed away at age 96 on Thursday, Sept. 8.

One Bullard ISD teacher has the same mission every Friday morning: Make people smile.

Typically, crossing guards may wear a bright-colored vest during their traffic duty. But Kayla Allen, gifted and talented teacher at Bullard Elementary, dresses in a variety of costumes to entertain students and parents in the drop-off line.

“I just like seeing their faces smile on Fridays because you know early in the morning everyone is kind of grumpy. So it’s been fun,” she said.

Allen has been teaching at the local elementary school for 10 years, with eight of those years in fourth-grade math.

The costume that got the whole initiative started was totally fitting — a traffic cone.

Allen first volunteered to direct traffic last year, and she said that’s when the whole thing started.

“Last year I was assigned morning duty outside in the car drop-off line. At the beginning of the year, we noticed a traffic backup where two of our schools’ car lines intersect at a three-way stop. I volunteered to direct the traffic for a few days to help get it moving. It turned into a full-time position,” she said.

As she worked in that position, one day Bullard Principal Jenny Kasson told her about a traffic costume she saw at Target.

It was an automatic purchase for Allen.

“It was my first costume. It was a hit with the kids and the parents — many who come through the carline with grumpy faces early in the morning started smiling on costume day … The kids roll their windows down and wave on Fridays now and are disappointed if I’m not dressed up,” she said. “I purchased a few costumes, but I have some generous friends and neighbors who have loaned me several. The traffic cone is a crowd favorite and comes out often.”

Some of Allen’s other costumes include a Christmas tree and a dinosaur, among others. Most recently, Allen dressed up as Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch who passed away at age 96 on Thursday, less than a week later. Just as the others, Allen’s tribute to the Queen of England brought countless smiles through the drop-off line and into the school halls.

Fourth-grade student Lawson Tutt said the dinosaur is his favorite costume and loves the concept of Allen dressing up.

“It’s cool that she does that for the kids and tries to be funny. It helps if someone is scared to go to school. Her costumes always make my mom smile,” he said.

Kasson also appreciates how Allen is finding a way for parents and students to have fun while being the car line.

“Directing traffic each morning wasn’t a duty that was assigned to Mrs. Allen. However, at the beginning of the school year, as Mrs. Allen was helping in the car line, she saw a need to assist parents to navigate the intersection between the elementary campus and the primary campus. This was such a huge help and allowed the lines to flow much smoother,” she said. “Mrs. Allen offered to make this her new duty spot each morning. The car line might not be parents’ favorite part of the day — our lines can be long — but by having some fun, we hope we make it a little better.”

She also mentioned that Allen’s costumes have become an added reason for students to be excited to attend school.

“We want our students to be excited to come to school each day, and having some fun in our car line is just one way we can help with this. The other staff members who are in our car line in the mornings also join in from time to time and dress up as well. They play music as they greet the students,” she said. “We want our students to know we are happy to see them each morning and they are important to us.”