Park City High School students can soon hit the road in Park City School District’s newly acquired Chevrolet Equinox — along with an instructor.
Career and Technical Education Director Tracy Fike said it’s the first time in about 10 years the district has offered a driver’s ed program.
“It's been offered on and off for many years previous to that, but we haven't had the program here in Park City, so students had to go private, or go down to Salt Lake, or find other school districts that offered the program,” she said.
Fike said it can be difficult to find driver's ed teachers. The certification takes at least six months to acquire. That’s why she’s contracted with two teachers involved in South Summit and Wasatch County school district programs.
Students must already have a learner’s permit to sign up. The online curriculum takes about 30 hours to complete. Then, students drive with an instructor for about five hours.
Fike said the high school’s program costs $470, but there are fee waivers for qualifying students.
“Locally it's over $700 to take private driver's ed lessons,” Fike said. “But by providing it through the high school, we can do fee waivers for students who are eligible for them.”
Fike said 35 students have already enrolled in the course. She’s hoping to add a third instructor to the team so there are more opportunities for the kids to get behind the wheel.
