AKRON, Ohio — A grant program from the Ohio Traffic Safety Office aims to expand access to driver training for teens by lowering the financial barriers to courses, which can cost hundreds of dollars per student.
The Drive to Succeed program awards grant money to different local agencies and districts, which can then allocate the money to students who need it the most to offset the cost of driver education.
“We know the cost of driver training is a big barrier for a lot of people. Driver training can be pretty expensive, it can cost anywhere between $400 to $700 or more for a student to go through the training,” said Judy Converse, public information officer for the Ohio Traffic Safety Office. “But we also know that this training is very important. This training gives teenagers the foundation for those driving skills. They learn from an instructor, they get classroom time, they get behind the wheel practice. Also, teenagers are required to do 50 hours of practice with a parent before they get licensed. So we know driver training is very important.”
Converse said the program was launched in 2022, with the first round of grants announced last year. Converse said the first round of grants was in the amount of $575,000 to 25 agencies, with the next round increasing to $2.5 million.
“We call the program Drive to Succeed because not only does it help students succeed in becoming a safe driver, but we know that getting a driver's license means a student can get a job or they can drive themselves to school, they can drive themselves to career tech training,” Converse said. “They can now help out their family and maybe help drive younger siblings to school or to appointments.”
That was the case for the Lipply triplets in Akron, three teenage girls all learning to drive at the same time. With their licenses, Addison, Isabella and Elizabeth would be able to have more independence, juggle their busy schedules and help out their mother.
“I wanted to take some pressure off my mom, [she would] not have to get out of work early or something to be able to take me somewhere,” said Addison. “I feel like that’s really helpful if I were to be able to do it on my own.”
“It’s a lot because she works really hard for us, she does everything for us and it really helps us a lot,” said Isabella of her mother. “I just really appreciate what she does for us.”
Luckily, Akron Public Schools was one of the recipients of the Drive to Succeed grant money. When the three students learned about the opportunity to offset the cost of driver education, they all applied, writing submissions detailing why they were deserving of the scholarship money, and the impact it would have on them.
“With this grant, we were able to give scholarships to different kids,” said Tiffany Lundy, coordinator of expanded learning at APS. “Almost 100 students actually took advantage of the scholarship, but we also had students who had discounted rates through our partnership with Driving Schools of Ohio.”
Lundy said the district first received an allocation of $30,000, and that the district has been allotted a second grant of $134,000, allowing the district to help more students and families.
“The most important thing here is that Akron Public Schools is able to serve the community,” said APS superintendent Dr. Michael Robinson. “We have programs that you name it, whatever kids want to do, whatever they want to be, we can meet the needs of parents. We’re here to serve as a partner with our community and our parents.”
The support for the triplets doesn’t stop there, however. The district, Driving Schools of Ohio, the Joe Stephen Riley Foundation and Miracles on Wheels came together to help donate a car to the triplets.
“These young people have a career that they want, they’re not looking for recreational things,” said Joe Riley, founder of the Joe Stephen Riley Foundation of his support for driver education. “They’re looking at how are we going to make a difference?”
“We go around helping people with their brakes, starter, alternator and we give away cars,” said Harvey Bryant, CEO of Miracles on Wheels. “Give back to the young people so they can appreciate a car is very important.”
When the donated car pulled into the Lipply’s driveway, the girls were initially confused as Lundy announced: “Lipply family, through our partnership with College and Career Academies and Driving Schools of Ohio, we are taking it one step further, we are presenting you all three with this car that is yours.”
As representatives from Driving Schools of Ohio handed over the keys, the triplets laughed and expressed their gratitude in a shower of thank yous, a sweet start to the school year.