Tonganoxie drivers education offers 20 hours classroom, 10 hours driving; seats limited

Stacy Emmett, the driver education instructor at Tonganoxie High School, described the structure, schedule and rules for the district’s drivers education program during the Sept. 8 board meeting. Emmett said the program has two parts: roughly 20 hours of classroom instruction and 10 hours of drive time. “We spend 10 hours in a car with us. Five of those they are actively driving and the other five, they are actively observing,” Emmett told the board. Students are tested over units and must score 80 percent or above on assessments; the program allows retakes for unit assessments. Emmett said students often begin classroom instruction immediately after school and that driving sessions are scheduled across multiple weeks in the summer so not all students drive at the same time. Typical annual capacity is 40–50 students, she said; the program’s registration deadline is the last Friday in April, which allows scheduling and pairing of student drivers. Fees are $275 for in-district students and $300 for out-of-district students; Emmett said the program is less expensive than many nearby private driving schools. She described hands-on learning including simulated traffic stops with the school resource officer, tractor and semi-truck demonstrations to teach truck safety in the district’s agricultural traffic area, and instruction that ranges from basic vehicle operation to highway merging. Emmett said the program does not usually accept incoming eighth graders or out-of-district students if the class fills, because priority is given to current high-school students. Parents and board members asked about capacity and whether the program can add instructors to increase seats; Emmett said the program currently has two driving instructors and that adding a third certified instructor would expand capacity. The board congratulated Emmett on a nomination as the district’s Kansas teacher-of-the-year applicant. Ending: Emmett said parents should register by the late‑April deadline and that she maintains a waiting list; the program will continue to prioritize in-district high-school students and to use summer sessions for driving instruction.