• 2022 - 2023 School Year         

    Dear Student/Family:                                                                                               

    The Tyrone Area School District encourages you and your student to participate in our after-school Driver’s Education classes.  Below you will find a summary of key points pertaining to our program.

    1. Courses: 3:00 – 5:00         1st Quarter       9/6 – 10/12       2nd Quarter       11/1 – 12/14     Summer 2023 Class:

    Subject to Change:   Mon/Tues/Wed   3rd Quarter      1/23 – 3/1         4th Quarter        4/3 – 5/15         6/5-15, 8AM-12

    1. Classroom is free, signup in guidance as soon as possible. First day of class is MANDATORY for ALL students. If your family has a vacation, medical or other reasons planned during the course please choose a different class/time.
    2. Classroom equals a quarter course credit toward graduation requirements.
    3. Students bring a pencil/pen to each class, all other materials provided. Consider bringing a snack & drink to class.
    4. Course is open to students who have graduated from grade 9 through grade 12, or 16 years of age or older. Any student within the Tyrone Area School District (homeschool, charter, private school) is welcome.
    5. Parent meeting is held at 5:00 pm on the first day of course and lasts about 25 minutes. Parents are strongly encouraged to attend this important introductory session to learn about the process of licensing, insurance, instruction tips for parents teaching their young drivers, course requirements, etc.
    6. In order to take Behind the Wheel training (BTW) student must first complete/pass classroom course.
    7. BTW costs $45 (make check payable to TASD), we provide six 1 hour individual lessons. Sixth lesson will provide a few minutes of final training and the driver’s licensing exam.  There is no cost to the exam.
    8. One of the benefits of this program is that most insurance companies will reduce your auto insurance payments.
    9. Students who complete both parts of the program are eligible to get their senior license as early as 17 ½ years if they have no citations/violations and have permission from both parents and Mr. McNitt.
    10. All students/parents are required to sign up for “Remind,” an app for teacher/student to communicate while keeping phone numbers confidential. Sign up: send message to “81010” & send message “@mrmcnittde.” You will be asked to return a message with your name and that’s it.  Phone numbers are not exchanged. You’ll get homework reminders, weather cancellations, and you can send personal messages seen only by you and the teacher.
    11. See this link for more information about our program go to: https://www.tyrone.k12.pa.us/Page/1275  

    Mr. McNitt may be reached at: rcmcnitt@tyrone.k12.pa.us or (814) 684-4240, ext. 3208.

    1. Students are required to wear a mask throughout the classroom and BTW experience. Failure to comply with safety protocol will result in removal from the program.
    2. Students/families are required to provide their own transportation to/from the class and BTW experiences.

    Many parents tell us that this “family experience” has dramatically improved the driving skills of students and adults alike. We encourage you to make it a positive learning opportunity for all generations!  There is no doubt about it, everyone gains when our students participate in our driver’s education program!

    Sincerely,          

    Cummins McNitt
    MA, U.S. History & American Folklife, Teacher of Human Geography,
    Economics, U. S. History, after-school Driver’s Education,
    MS/HS Gifted Support Teacher, TAHS PBIS Coach,
    & YAN C0-Advisor

    Driver’s Education Program Changes

    2022-2023 School Year – Only if we are forced to return to a different learning format.

    The TAHS Driver’s Education Program has made many adjustments over the past few school years in light of the pandemic.  Your cooperation in helping us make this work for our students, families and staff is greatly appreciated. 

    Classroom Instruction:

    The Driver’s Education course will once again be provided to our students each marking period that we are able to provide in-person learning.  If we are required to move to remote learning the class will move over to an online format and you will be required to zoom online with us each day.  Class sizes will be limited to 15 students and will run Mondays, Tuesdays, & Wednesdays from 3:00-5:00.  There is no cost to the classroom experience.  Apply for classes through the Guidance Office, Ms. Eckley.

    Behind-the-Wheel:

    Mr. Bouslough will continue providing behind-the-wheel training (BTW).  As in the past, you must have completed and passed the classroom course prior to BTW.  Signups need to be handled through the HS Main Office by taking your permit and $45, cash or check (make payable to TASD) with you to the office and complete a short contact info sheet.  This will entitle you to 6 one-hour training sessions. We will contact you to set up your driving times.  We must first focus on the backlog of students who had been signed up in the Spring.  The following is now required for BTW student drivers:

    1. Present your permit to your instructor at the start of every session.
    2. Have your temperature taken (must be lower than 100.4) and answer health questions prior to every session. Should the student experience any of these: fever, cough, shortness of breath, diarrhea, chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, loss of taste/smell, etc. the sessions will need to cancelled and rescheduled.  Please report to your instructor as soon as any of these symptoms should arise. These criteria may change as required by DoH.
    3. Students should arrive at the lesson with their own face mask and wear it for the duration of the lesson. NOTE: If the student wears glasses and will have a problem with them fogging due to the use of a face mask while behind the wheel, the student should consider wearing contacts, if available, to ensure proper visibility and safety for the duration of the lesson.
    4. We will continue with one student and one instructor ratio.
    5. There will be a camera mounted in the vehicle that will record activities in the car and to the front of the vehicle (where you are driving). This is new, yes, but not because of the pandemic, this was a safety action planned for the Spring, but for obvious reasons wasn’t installed at that time.
    6. The windows will remain open unless weather dictates otherwise. If windows are to be closed, the environmental controls will be adjusted to allow fresh air to circulate for the duration of the session.
    7. While outside the vehicle, the student and instructor should maintain social distancing. 
    8. All touch surfaces in the driver training vehicle will be sanitized prior to each new driver taking the wheel.
    9. Hand sanitizer will also be available for use prior to, during, and following each lesson. 

    Testing:

    Testing will continue at this time, this will be the last session that you will take with us.  We will drive for the first 30 minutes and test the second half.

    Questions:

    Contact Mr. McNitt at rcmcnitt@tyrone.k12.pa.us for any questions or concerns you might have.