LORAIN, Ohio — During the course of a normal school day, students at Lorain High School may take classes like math, history, and science. But this school year, some students are also taking driver’s ed, sitting behind the wheel and getting hands-on experience.
Driver’s ed was offered at the high school about three decades ago, but hasn’t been offered since. For the past five years, Mic Becerra, executive director of secondary initiatives at the district, has worked to bring it back.
“I help oversee career tech, and we’re asking students to do internships, get work-based learning out in the community. But some of them don’t have a driver’s license, so we’re asking them to do something, and that’s been an obstacle,” he said. “It’s just not Lorain High School, it’s high schools everywhere.”
Becerra explained the barriers some families and students face when working towards getting their license. For example, he cited the high cost of attending driving schools or external programs, which can often cost hundreds of dollars. Additionally, he noted that because of after school commitments, it can be difficult for families to schedule the practice hours needed to get a license.
By offering driver’s ed in school, students can complete 24 hours of online coursework and eight hours of in-car time with an instructor during the school day, at no cost.
“We’re taking away two obstacles,” Becerra said. “One, allowing kids to take driver's ed for free, taking the financial burden away from families. But also, a lot of our kids are involved in sports, clubs after school, they work. And so they couldn't do the in-car after school. So we’re meeting a need there as well.”
Driver’s ed instructor Todd Auvil, who’s been a coach and educator for more than 30 years, also said that not all families have a car that’s available for students to practice with.
“There’s a need for it,” Auvil said. “It’s really about coaching kids. Just coaching them how to be good drivers.”
Training kids and getting them confident and educated behind the wheel is important, especially considering the leading cause of death for teens in the United States is motor vehicle crashes, according to the CDC.
“Driving’s a privilege, it’s not your right,” Auvil said. “There’s certain rights you have, but this isn't one of them. You don't have the right to be an unsafe driver and take matters into your own hands.”
High school junior Julian Turner, who’s currently enrolled in driver's ed, said he thinks this class will help promote road safety.
“If you don't know the right stuff, obviously there’s going to be accidents,” he said. “I think it’ll lower the chance of people getting in accidents.”
Turner has completed the online coursework portion and will be able to get into the school’s 2024 Honda Civic with an instructor soon.
“I think it’s definitely important for them to put that in the schools because it’s helped a lot of people, and it will help a lot of people, because [of] the money part, and not everyone has a car to drive at home,” Turner said of the impact of the course.
According to Becerra, offering the class has received community support from families of students, Ohio Means Jobs, and Lorain County. The car that students drive came to the school through a CODE grant, and Lorain County Job & Family Services donated $25,000 to cover what the grant does not, according to the district.
Becerra said the goal is to get 50-100 students ready to take their driver's exam this school year, and he hopes to obtain another car in the future to help enroll more students in the class.
“It’s exciting, the community’s excited about it, the kids are excited about it,” Becerra said. “I saw the enrollment for second semester, it’s even larger than this first semester.”