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Physical Education Department » Driver Education

Driver Education

 

IF A STUDENT IS UNDER 18 YEARS OLD, HE OR SHE MUST PASS BOTH PHASES BEFORE GETTING HIS OR HER DRIVER'S LICENSE.

 

Students at Argo will take Driver Ed classroom their sophomore year during their PE class. Any student who does not will have opportunities in the summer and a Saturday class during the year.

 

 

Summer Driver Education Classroom 2024

 
Dates*:
Summer Session May 28th - July 5th
 
The summer session will run every other day, Monday - Friday. For example, Tuesday and Thursday one week, followed by Monday, Wednesday, and Friday the next week. There will not be any weekend driving scheduled at this time.
 
Time slots are:
 
8am-9am
9am-10am
10am-11am
11am-12pm
12pm-1pm
1pm-2pm
 
*Any Junior or Senior that needs Driver Education Classroom should please see Mr. Nowak in Rm. 207, or your Physical Education teacher for details.
  • This is for the classroom portion.
  • Start date is May 28th
  • Must have the $150 fee verified by emailing [email protected]
  • Must be a Junior or Senior.
 
Signups will start on a first come, first served basis beginning Wednesday, May 1st at 8:45am in Room 207. All Behind the Wheel Fees must be taken care of before a student can sign up. For directions on how to pay the fee, or check if it is waived, please click here: https://forms.office.com/r/bkRgk9fiUG
 
You may sign up with Coach Nowak in Room 207 BEFORE your PE period or lunch. If spots are available, signups will also be open on May 2nd beginning at 7:25am and available all day BEFORE your PE period or lunch. After those dates, you can find Mr. Nowak in Room 207. Please have an idea of a few time slots you want to choose, and have proof of payment OR your fee being waived. 
 
YOU MUST SHOW UP TO ROOM 207 TO SIGN UP IN PERSON. YOU MAY NOT CHANGE DATES/TIMES AFTER SIGNUP. PLEASE, NO PHONE CALLS OR EMAILS. PLEASE KNOW WHICH TIME SLOT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SIGN UP FOR. YOU CANNOT ATTEND BOTH SUMMER SCHOOL AND BEHIND THE WHEEL. THERE WILL NOT BE ANY BEHIND THE WHEEL RESCHEDULING. 
 
If you cannot drive over the summer, you can sign up in August. See Mr. Nowak or your Physical Education teacher for details or questions.
 
TWO-PHASE DRIVER ED PROGRAM
Argo Community High School has approximately 9 weeks of driver education classroom.  The state requires 30 hours of classroom instruction.  During this class, students will learn rules of the road along with safe driving strategies.  Most students will receive their permits at the end of the 9 week course, usually the last day of classroom.   In order for them to receive their permits they must:
  1. Pass the vision test with 20/40 visual acuity
  2. Bring in a $20.00 check or money order made out to the Secretary of State for the state permit fee.
  3. Pass the written Illinois Rules of the Road Exam with an 80 % or better
  4. Pass the class
Behind the wheel consist of 6 hours of instruction with a driver ed instructor. The Behind the Wheel Phase (BTW) is the ultimate driving experience that incorporates information from the classroom. It is in this phase that students must learn to continuously identify problem situations and successfully solve them in real world driving. Students are evaluated on a lesson by lesson basis based on how well they are able to perform the specific tasks of each lesson. They will only move on to the next lesson when the instructors feel that they have mastered the previous skills. It is at this point that the parents or “driving coach” are expected to enhance student learning by practicing skills as they are learned for homework.
 

The instructors recommend that every student complete one (1) to two (2) hours of driving time each week outside of school. This will help with the student’s progress. Students may be withdraw/failure due to absences. 

 
DRIVER EDUCATION INFORMATION
Illinois State Law requires that anyone enrolled in a state-certified course has to receive at least 30 hours of classroom instruction. With the layout of our course, that would equal to no more than 5 absences.
If your son or daughter received an A or B in as a classroom grade and an A or B in the BTW phase, he or she may be eligible for the cooperative driving waiver from Argo Community High School.  

If the student qualifies, they will take the Road Test with the driver ed instructor on the last day of behind the wheel. If the student passes that test, they will receive a blue “waiver” from the instructor that he or she will take with them to the DMV.  If they are not a spot check date, they can bypass the road test at the DMV and just present proper paper work. 

The GDL (Illinois Graduated Driver Licensing Program) law has evolved and changed the way students are licensed.  The major difference being 50 hours of practice driving, 10 of which must be at night. This law is not to penalize students or overburden parents, but to provide much needed guidance to inexperienced drivers from expert drivers like you. As a parent, this provides additional opportunities for you to become aware of your son/ daughter's ability levels.  Additional information can be found at www.cyberdriveillinois.com.
After receiving your permit and passing the classroom.  Each student must pay the Driver Ed fee of $150.00.  After this fee is paid each student must SIGN UP (instructions to the right) to take the behind the wheel portion. 
 

PLEASE NOTE: Just paying the $150.00 does not sign you up for BTW class, you must follow the instructions to the left to sign up for the BTW class. 

 
Going to a DMV for your Driver's License
 

Please remember to click on this link prior to going to the DMV to ensure that you are eligible to receive your license. If you are not eligible, ask yourself the following questions:

  1. Did I pass Classroom AND Behind the Wheel (BTW)?
  2. Has it been NINE (9) months since my permit was issued? (Issue date is on the top right of your permit. Add 9 months to that date.)
  3. Am I at least 16 years of age.

If you answered “NO” to any one of those questions you are not entitled to receive your Driver’s License. You will not be cleared until you resolve any issue with the above 3 questions. If you have any problems or questions feel free to email the Driver Education Department at: Russ Nowak [email protected]

Now that your son or daughter has his or her permit, you play a major role in developing him or her into a safe driver.  

A successful driver education experience is a cooperative partnership of student, parents/guardians, and instructors.  You can assist by becoming involved in your teenager’s driving experience.  Talk about and support the program, provide 1-2 hours of at home practice your student each week, and encourage your son/daughter to develop the skills, attitudes, and habits that will make him/her a low risk driver.  You are not expected to replace the Driver Ed instructor, but rather support, encourage, supplement, and assist in developing a low risk driver.

updated 04/24/2024

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