What’s the 411 on Driver’s Education for the Nine Mile Falls School District? 911! At the June School Board meeting, 911 Driving School was awarded the Driver’s Education Contract for our District. Contracting out Driver’s Education has been the trend since 2002, when the state moved Driver’s Education from the jurisdiction of the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to the Department of Licensing (DOL). With this move went state funding to subsidize the cost to families. In addition, the cost for school districts to continue to offer this program has risen, so that most school districts in the state no longer offer it. Rural districts, as a service to their parents, are now contracting out the program to commercial driving schools.

911 Driving School was founded by two Pierce County Deputies in March of 2005. All franchise instructors are active or retired law enforcement officers who are trained and can teach the most current techniques of controlling a vehicle; their viewpoint, therefore, is a bit different than “just for profit.” There is no harder task for an officer than knocking on a parent’s door to tell of a fatality. Proactive prevention to teach not only the laws and regulations of the DOL, but good, common sense defensive driving with emphasis on safety is the mark of 911 Driving Schools.

911 Driving School has been in the Spokane for the past year, graduating 1150 teens. Its main office is on Francis (Starbucks and Rosauers), and services 19 school district attendance areas as well as being the AAA approved driving school (AAA no longer offers Driver’s Education). There are 25 certified instructors and four office staff.
An added plus for our students is that owners AJ and Wendy Seitz are Suncrest residents with a daughter at Lakeside. AJ is a retired Puyallup Police Officer and Wendy is a Mead High School graduate. AJ teaches and oversees the instructors, while Wendy manages the office staff. Their son just completed his first year at Montana State University. They are thrilled to be on the east side of the state.

911 began offering classes at Lakeside High School this summer with 28 students enrolled. On average, classes will be three days a week, two hours a day, for 5 weeks, plus drives (In September, the state is increasing the number of required drives to six). However, the Sietz want to meet the needs of our community and are actively looking for ways to customizing the schedules. Make-ups may be done at the main office classrooms on Francis, which offers a larger variety of class options.
In September, the Driver’s Education class will begin on Tuesday, September 18th. Classes will meet T, W, Th from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. through Thursday, October 8th. Brochures will be available in September at the high school, or parents may contact the school directly at 509-324-0911, spokane911@msn.com or go to the website: www.911drivingschool.com.