Published: September 04, 2008 08:37 am         

Local woman lobbied for funding

By MICHELLE MILLER
Staff Writer

This year, about a dozen Cooperstown high school students will be the first to test drive a new safe driving program.

A $35,000 state grant announced by state Sen. James Seward, of Milford, will help fund the district’s plan for a ``21st Century Driver Training Program.’’

The training will include classroom instruction, a chance to practice driving skills on four newly leased simulators and on-the road experience. The drivers’ training program will take place during a 20-week timeframe, and will be offered as a half-credit course during the school year. Students who successfully take the course will be eligible for a DMV certificate of completion.

``Parents are very excited,’’ said High School Principal Gary Kuch. ``I think they realize it is the one thing we can give the students that is a life-long lesson. We live in a rural area and almost everyone, at some point, will have to learn to drive.’’

Kuch said Penny Gentile, whose son Chris was killed during his senior year in an automobile accident, was very instrumental in helping get a more appropriate driving program at Cooperstown Central School. He said Gentile worked tirelessly since her son’s death to improve driver education for teenagers in the district — and now it is becoming a reality.

``I am excited that Penny Gentile has been appointed to the committee advisory panel,’’ said Kuch.

``She is tenacious and she should be. And it has been a very positive thing that has come out of something very tragic.’’

Kuch said the current curriculum being taught to students in the summer driving program is very inadequate — adding that it is the same material that was taught to Ozzie and Harriet’s children. ``There is nothing wrong with Ozzie and Harriet’s children of course, but times have changed, students’ needs have changed, and students’ learning styles have changed. It is time to go to the 21st century,’’ Kuch said.

The new proposed course description and requirements have been created and approved by the board of education. However, it still needs to be approved by the New York State Department. The software for classroom instruction has also not been purchased from Road Wise America; so until the district gets approval of the new curriculum, it will use the old one. Kuch said he anticipates the new software to arrive in mid fall. The course will run for two periods for the first part of the year and will be taught by Wayne Weir. Simulators, which consist of thee monitors, a steering wheel, foot controls and a keypad, have been set up in his room. Kuch said although the district has the equipment, nobody has been trained yet and he is not sure how things will work exactly.

``We are nervous because we have never done this before, but we are also very excited about starting the program,’’ said Kuch. ``There is a lot of energy around the program.’’

In order to work out the bugs, Kuch said 10 to 12 students have volunteered to serve as guinea pigs for the first offering of the training. “We are hoping to eventually be able to double the amount of students who can take the course,” said Kuch. Once the wrinkles are ironed out, any student 16 years of age or older will be eligible for enrollment. Initially, the program will be available to seniors first and open to juniors if space is available.

According to Kuch, further down the road, the district may also offer a night course for adults who want a refresher in driver training.

Minimum requirements for the proposed driver training program is 24 hours of classroom instruction, six hours of behind the wheel training, six hours of in-car observation and 12 hours of simulation training.

The simulators have been leased for three years from Virtual Trainer and are able to simulate all types of road conditions such as different weather conditions (wet, dry, snow and fog), and hazards (pedestrians, and cars not following traffic rules). Kuch said he believes nothing can replace actual on-the-road experience, but said the simulators will provide students more practice and will give them a safer situation in which to make mistakes. Kuch said one advantage of the simulators is that they are self monitoring. He said more students will be able to learn at the same time because students can train on the simulators while others are learning class material. They can work in stations, Kuch said.

Kuch said he is very confident that the new curriculum will be a success. He said that it has been proven to work in many other places, such as Georgia, and he hopes once the program is implemented at CCS, it will serve as a model for all schools across the state. According to the National Safety Administration, traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for persons ages 15 to 20. Teen drivers, mile to mile, are in three times as many fatal crashes as all other drivers and more than 7,000 teenagers die in traffic accidents each year. Kuch said he thinks these statistics should be taken more seriously. He said he believes it would be cost effective for the state to invest more in driver training because in the long-run, it would probably save money. Kuch said the $35,000 grant will cover the costs of the lease of the simulators and technical support and training for three years. Royal Chrysler has also agreed to donate a vehicle for the behind the wheel training.

Kuch said the only expense to the school will be the cost of paying a part-time teacher and gas for the car.

“The school district will probably hold an official ribbon cutting once we get things up and running,” said Kuch.