Between school, cross country and track, senior Sofia Sarmiento took driver’s education in school because she had no time afterward.
Sarmiento said her parents chose the course because “they figured it would be really convenient for it to be in school as a class.”
“I feel like the main factor [in choosing a course] is scheduling,” junior Nikki Grundy said.
Grundy and Sarmiento also said cost was a large factor in choosing private or public driving schools.
At A-Adams Driving School private courses range from $525-$625 compared to the Glenbrook North course cost of $350.
Kathy Clausen, president of A-Adams, said there were differences between public and private school in terms of “on-the-road training” time.
Sarmiento said she thought the curriculum in her class “spent an appropriate amount of time between [driving and classroom time].”
GBN driving instructor Jillian Nowak said public driving schools have classroom and behind the wheel time spread out during the semester.
According to the Illinois High School & College Driver’s Education Association, instructors must have 24 hours of college credits and 12 graduate level hours in an accredited college.
A-Adams Driving School instructors have 120 hours of training, Clausen said.
Robert Pieper, GBN driver’s education instructional supervisor, said that “[GBN instructors] have to earn a college degree or endorsement in driver’s education from an accredited institution.”
According to a 2011 investigative study by the Illinois Office of the Secretary of State, 6,684 of 143,844 private driving school students got into accidents from 2007-2010, and 18,678 of 389,571 public driving school students got into accidents in the same time frame.
According to Grundy, the decision between public and private driver’s education is a “personal thing,” and matters little next to safety.
“Part of me doesn’t believe it’s the school you go to, it’s more of your personality, like if you pay attention and if you are a vigilant driver,” said Grundy. “You can get as many driving lessons as you want, but in the end it’s more of your focus on the roads.”