Driver’s ed on the road again with coronavirus safeguards

COVID-19 has forced Washington state schools to repeatedly shift gears, and for a time last spring it even put the brakes on driver’s education.

But with new health and safety guidelines issued for driving lessons and classroom instruction now conducted remotely, the road to getting a driver’s license at La Conner High has re-opened.

State officials cleared the way in June to resume student driving sessions. La Conner High driver’s ed teacher Scott Novak then began moving his in-person instruction to an on-line format in advance of fall semester.

Novak has uploaded presentations he used to deliver to students in the classroom. He has also posted short instructional videos that student drivers can access on-line.

“I try to give them different material in smaller chunks so they don’t have to listen to me for 30 minutes,” Novak quipped.

Even during a pandemic, there are specific requirements student drivers must meet.

“The kids spend six hours driving and take 30 hours of classroom instruction,” Novak said. “We still have to hit all the objectives. Now, we’re just doing it in a different way.”

Prior to COVID-19, Novak often enlisted erasers and drawings on a classroom white board to illustrate traffic flow.

Those props have since been replaced by images of Matchbox cars projected onto computer screens.

“I would usually draw on the board,” Novak recalls of his pre-COVID teaching style. “It used to be that I could use an eraser on the board to represent a car.”

But he had to kick that approach to the curb for on-line instruction. Illustrating traffic flow to students logged onto computers rather than sitting in a classroom needed to be solved.

The answer came in the form of toy cars photographed by a document camera atop Novak’s desk.

“I ended up going to Wal-Mart and getting some Matchbox cars,” he said.

And not just any Matchbox cars. Novak jazzed up his fleet with toy sports cars and the iconic Batmobile.

Developing lessons on-line has been anything but an auto pilot process, Novak said.

“It’s challenging,” he said. “It’s required a lot of planning. I know all the teachers have been working hard. I can tell you the driver’s ed lessons took quite a bit of time.”

There is a new look on the road, too. The state has mandated that no more than two students can be in the car for driving lessons at one time. Health screening and masks are required. Novak also dons gloves.

"There are some strict safety protocols in effect,” Novak said. “We keep a log for contact tracing and the car is wiped down between sessions.”

Novak said getting the green light from the state to resume driver’s ed has been a relief for all involved. The extra work necessary to prevent transmission of the coronavirus has become part of the daily routine.

“We’re able to get it done,” he said.