Angie Reinoehl/MDN Nick Cavallo stands in his classroom at Central Campus High School. The driver’s education program will change to a summer only class starting next school year

Nick Cavallo, driver’s education teacher at Central Campus High School, was recently named North Dakota Driver’s Education Teacher of the Year by the North Dakota Driver Traffic Safety Education Association (NDDTSEA).

NDDTSEA is an organization of professional driver and traffic safety educators that facilitates the development of safe driving habits in teen drivers.

Cavallo is originally from Minot and began teaching at Central Campus in 2013. Initially he sought a history education position but he was approached and asked if he was interested in teaching driver’s education. He accepted and said once he went through the required training for driver’s education, he loved it.

“The community should be proud of the program that we have at Minot Public. We have the best program that’s financially feasible or economical for parents,” Cavallo said.

The driver’s education course is intended for ages 14 and older and is a four-phase program consisting of simulation driving, classroom education, range driving and street driving. Cavallo said Minot Public School’s program is the only one like it in the area, with the driving range behind Jim Hill Middle School being its unique feature.

In the upcoming school year the driver’s education program that currently serves about 300 students annually will move to be a summer-only program. Cavallo said the driving factor is the distance between the new high school opening in August and the driving range behind Jim Hill. He said it would waste too much school time driving back and forth between the two locations. Cavallo will move into a history education position during the school year and will continue to teach driver’s education in the summer.

Cavello was nominated for Driver’s Education Teacher of the Year for traveling around the area and assisting other schools with their programs. He has taught summer driver’s ed courses in Max, Velva and Underwood and will be returning to Max to assist again this summer.

“It’s a nice feeling to get recognized on the state level – especially when it’s a lot of work. In the summertime I have 30 kids and I have to do six hours a piece. That’s 180 hours in a car with a kid is a lot of work. It’s nice getting to spend time with students and see them get better. Every kid, no matter who they are, always gets a little bit of anxiety when they get in the car and it’s cool to see that melt away in time when they get better. It’s a nice feeling,” Cavallo said.