Over this past school year, 165 students took driver’s education at Central during first semester and 145 students during second semester. A total of 128 students were enrolled in the program over the summer.

According to Sarah Peterson, who is a driver’s education instructor and physical education teacher at Central, there are benefits to taking driver’s education in school instead of with a private company.

“[Driver’s education in school] is during the day and you don’t have to find extra time outside of school,” Peterson said. “Especially for students that are already involved in a lot of activities, you don’t have to worry about finding time on top of that.”

Central participates in the Cooperative Driver Testing Program, which allows certified instructors to administer the road test if the student receives an A or B in the class, a perk for students who enroll in the school program. The program at Central lasts six weeks in the summer and 18 weeks, or one semester, during the school year.

Inside a public school, all teachers must be certified by the state in order to become a driving instructor.

According to Anthony Leaf, a driving instructor at Central, the instructors who teach at private driving schools are only certified by the owner. Teachers at Central have to take a certain amount of classes and must have a degree in education in order to teach drivers education.

“When the private driving school[s] say they’re certified instructors, what they really mean is they’re certified by the owner,” Leaf said. “The State of Illinois does not recognize them.”

Driver’s education can be taken with the school during the fall, spring or summer. It includes a three-phase program with time spent in a classroom, behind the wheel and completing lessons in a simulation. Central recently purchased 12 new simulators to enhance its program.

“The simulation is what separates us from most other places,” Leaf said. “[…] The simulators are a different way to train. It’s a way to teach before we get on the road.”

Behind the wheel, each student drives 12 times and receives about five and a half hours of driving time, surpassing Illinois’ minimum requirement of three hours. The classroom phase is 30 hours long, and the school program costs $300.

This is in comparison to the Excel Driving School which offers a Teen Basic package for $525. It includes 15 classroom sessions (30 hours), six hours behind the wheel and six hours of in-car observation.

For some students, the flexibility afforded by Excel’s variety of class times and multiple locations outweighs other factors. Junior Alex Guerra, who took driver’s education at the Excel Driving School last summer, enjoyed his experience with the program.

“I liked how […] I could do it during the summer so I wouldn’t have to take time out of my school schedule,” Guerra said. “I thought it was pretty easy, and the concepts were presented simple enough to understand right away.”

Guerra’s reasons for opting for private training are common, though Leaf believes that the benefits of school-provided driver’s education are worth the schedule maneuvering.

“Most kids think they cannot take driver’s ed and get their core classes in, but I think that is inaccurate because there are a quite a lot of people who have early dismissal as a senior,” Leaf said. “Driver’s ed definitely could’ve been taken if they’re getting out early their senior year.”

Conveniences and schedules aside, Leaf believes that the best reason to take driver’s education at Central is because it offers the best instruction.

“We’re not a business, we’re a school,” Leaf said. “We want to educate and we know best practices. Unfortunately, with these private driving schools, their goal is to make money. They charge double the money and want to get the kids in and out. The faster they get kids in and out, the more money they make.” 

The students enrolled in this summer’s school-sponsored driver’s education classes have already been randomly selected via a lottery system, with a waitlist available to students not initially selected.

Students with concerns about scheduling driver’s education are encouraged to discuss scheduling options with their counselors.

Alana Cervera and Yuna Lee contributed to this story.