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    Home / College Guide / District 207 looks to outsource driver’s education to private company
     Posted on Saturday, March 06 @ 00:00:32 PST
    College

    Pioneer Press | Mar 05, 2021 at 6:03 PM A drivers education car is parked outside Maine South High School in Park Ridge. Maine Township High School District 207 has proposed outsourcing drivers education in the district. (Jennifer Johnson / Pioneer Press) The way Maine Township High School District 207 offers driver’s education could be changing. District administration is looking at the possibility of outsourcing all driver’s education instruction rather than continuing to use teachers on staff. Advertisement In a memo to the District 207 Board of Education, Shawn Messmer, assistant superintendent of curriculum and innovation, said the district will be seeking proposals this month from outside companies that provide education services. Bids could be presented to the board of education for a vote during its next meeting, which is scheduled for Monday, April 5 at 6 p.m. Agendas and access to virtual meetings can be found at maine207.org/agendas-minutes-video/ . Advertisement Currently, district teachers provide classroom, simulator and behind-the-wheel instruction. Messmer explained that a state law allows school districts to contract with a commercial driving school that is approved by the Illinois Secretary of State for classroom and behind-the-wheel instruction, or either one of these lessons.

    The reason for the potential change is largely financial, according to Messmer. “The total savings to the district is between $500,000 and $600,000,” he said, explaining that this includes staffing costs, not having to replace cars and not having to upgrade the district’s existing simulators, as the outsourced company will provide all of these. There is a possibility that classroom instruction will continue to be taught by a district teacher if the district does not receive proposals for this, Messmer said. Plans call for driver’s education teachers to be reassigned to physical education, which will reduce P.E. class sizes, Messmer’s memo said. Two full-time positions will be eliminated through attrition, it said. [Most read] Illinois’ first case of Brazilian COVID-19 variant identified in Chicago » Driver’s education will not be taking place this summer because the majority of teachers are also sports coaches and several sports seasons were shifted to summer due to the pandemic, Messmer said. The proposal to outsource driver’s education has been met with objections from the Illinois High School and College Driver Education Association.

    Brent Johnston, president of the association’s board and a teacher at Hinsdale Central High School, submitted a letter to the board, which was summarized by Ginny Edwards during the March 1 meeting. “Why … would you consciously want to send district novice teen drivers to an inferior learning platform to learn how to drive safely on our nation’s highways when the best-trained instructors are already employed at district schools?” Johnston’s letter read. Johnston also disagreed with the purported financial savings the district expects to recognize. A letter from the executive board of the Illinois High School and College Driver Education Association, sent to Pioneer Press, questioned whether parents want their teenagers taught by instructors who are “not known or interviewed by district administration.” Advertisement But Messmer said all instructors “will be evaluated by Maine Township District 207 administrators.” “By state law, all instructors need to hold a driver’s education teaching certificate — the same credential as those currently employed by the district,” he said. “If the classroom portion is outsourced, the requirements are the same for the classroom instructor.

    ” In speaking with Palatine High School District 211, which outsourced a portion of its driver’s education program, it was learned that many of the instructors are retired driver’s education teachers from public schools, Messmer said. Currently, there are more District 207 students who fulfill the district’s driver’s education requirement through private instruction outside of school than with district teachers, Messmer told the school board. “District-wide, 60% of our students currently do not take any part of driver’s ed with us,” Messer said. “They do get that (instruction) on their own at various parts of the year.” Board member Carla Owen questioned whether the district faces liability by outsourcing driver’s education. Mary Kalou, assistant superintendent for business, said this has been reviewed. “There’s no greater risk,” she said. “These are certified teachers and the vehicles are inspected and maintained according to state law. There should be no greater liability of providing the same service to students.” Recommended on Chicago Tribune

     
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