Driver's Education
The driver鈥檚 education course is accredited by the Wyoming Department of Education and meets the basic requirements to convert a driver鈥檚 permit to a license by the Wyoming Department of Transportation. Communication regarding required waivers and scheduling will be sent to the email provided at registration. Attendance for all components of this program is required for a completion certificate to be issued. The course is broken into two segments: classroom instruction and driving evaluation/observation. Students who do not successfully complete the course may be eligible for additional instruction time for a fee.
Requirements for Completion:
- 30 hours of Classroom Instruction:
- Students can enroll in the classroom instruction portion any time after their 14th birthday.
- This course is appropriate for students preparing to take their permit exam or anyone who has their learner鈥檚 permit.
- This course covers topics such as state driving laws, driver readiness, vehicle operation, basic maintenance and much more.
- A parent/legal guardian must attend the first 陆 hour to hour of the first class (for those students under 18)
- Optional simulator time is available for registered driver鈥檚 education students and can be scheduled by contacting the Life Enrichment office.
- Driving Evaluation/Observation:
- 6 hours of driving evaluation can be completed once the student driver has their driving permit and has completed 25 of the required 50 DMV driving hours
- Proof of hour completion is provided by showing hours logged in the DMV Road Ready app.
- Classroom instruction must be in progress or fully completed before a student can begin their driving evaluation time.
- Students must provide their own licensed and insured vehicle for their in-car evaluation drives
- 6 hours of in-car observation are completed observing a fellow student driver.
- The observation component can be completed at any time after a student has started their classroom session
Meet the Driver's Education Instructors
Driver's Education Classroom Instructor/Coordinator
Keith Tast is 糖心live's Driver Education Coordinator. Keith comes to 糖心live with over twenty two years in law enforcement with various agencies. Keith helped launch and deliver the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program in Laramie County while with the Cheyenne Police Department. Keith also served as a driver's license contract Investigator for the state of Wyoming. Recently, he just retired from Laramie County Government where he spent twelve years as the Director of the Laramie County Shooting Sports Complex. Keith is excited to take on his new role with 糖心live to help ensure Wyoming drivers are well prepared as they head out on our roads.
In-Car Driving Instructor
Dan is a life-long Cheyenne resident and is currently working as a third-grade teacher for Laramie County School District #1. In addition to teaching, Dan has enjoyed coaching elementary school flag football, boys鈥� and girls鈥� basketball, volleyball and track. Before his teaching career, he drove professionally for twenty-plus years, most recently for a parcel delivery company, logging more than 100,000 hours of drive time in company vehicles.
Dan teaches utilizing the five habits of safe driving, he teaches the framework for lifelong habits that ensure drivers, passengers, and others sharing the road enjoy a mishap-free driving career.
In his free time, Dan enjoys the outdoors and spending time with his family.
In-Car Driving Instructor
During Dave鈥檚 38-year career, he has been extensively involved in the oversight, development, and implementation of law enforcement training in Wyoming and South Dakota. He began his career in law enforcement in 1982 serving in Evansville, WY. He then joined the Natrona County Sheriff鈥檚 Office in 1983 as a Detention Officer, later moving into the patrol division, investigations and the crime prevention unit. In 1991, he accepted a position with the Wyoming Law Enforcement Academy. Retiring in 2018, after 27 years of service with the Academy, 12 of which serving as its Director, In 2018 he joined South Dakota鈥檚 Law Enforcement Training Center as a Training Coordinator.
Dave is married to his wife of 31 years and is most proud of their two grown boys; his oldest who is serving in the Navy, stationed in Jacksonville, Florida and youngest, a Chemical Engineer in Wyoming.
In-Car Driving Instructor
Mike is originally from New Hampshire before enlisting in the Air Force where he served
until retirement. His career began in law enforcement in Maine where he obtained various
certifications pertaining to vehicle safety. He's looking forward to making a positive
impact on new drivers by instilling safe driving behaviors. In his free time, Mike
enjoys spending time with his family and the outdoors.
In-Car Driving Instructor
During Ben鈥檚 19 year career with the Laramie County Sherriff鈥檚 department he has had the opportunity to serve in a variety of capacities including 10 years instructing Emergency Vehicle Operations to deputies on how to handle patrol vehicles safely and with due regard for the safety of others on the road in emergency situations and 5 years working as the deputy assigned to county schools within Laramie County. In addition to working as a Sherriff鈥檚 Deputy, Ben spent 10 years working with young people in the VOA sponsored Camp POSTCARD, which is a week-long team building and leadership camp. When asked what he likes about working as an in-car instructor he says 鈥淚 like the fact that young people are still open to different alternatives about how to approach a problem and solve it. Their decision making isn't generally set in stone and they can generally look at finding a solution in different ways.鈥� The most important advice he can give to new drivers is 鈥漴emember, of all of the factors in driving a motor vehicle, there is only one that you have complete control over. That鈥檚 you!鈥�
In his free time, Ben enjoys watching his sons play football and watching college football on TV. He is a certified UAV pilot and enjoys recreational and commercial drone flying. He also enjoys NASCAR, baseball, hockey, bird hunting, and spending time with his family.
In-Car Driving Instructor
Kevin is a current police officer and a prior teacher. With this background he brings
knowledge of safe driving habits and statutes along with a learner focused approached
to driver's education. Kevin is currently the Public Information Officer for the Cheyenne
Police Department where he focuses on public education, with driver's safety being
a high priority.
Prior to becoming a police officer with the Cheyenne Police Department in 2013, Kevin was the assistant coordinator of GEAR-UP at 糖心live, helping to make Jr. High and High School students college ready. Kevin also taught English for two years in Armenia through the US Peace Corps.
As an in-car driving instructor at 糖心live, Kevin wants to ensure that students learn to drive safely and carry forward the lessons of driver's education into a lifetime of safe driving habits.
In-Car Driving Instructor
In my 25-year career working in law enforcement, I have had the opportunities to work
in many capacities. One of those areas was with the traffic division investigating
major crashes. The importance of safe driving impacts all of us. My goal with my students
is to instill confidence in each student so they know they can learn to be safe and
proficient drivers. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my daughters and my
dog Bailey. I also hike, hunt, fish and ride motorcycles. I look forward to working
with each student to do my part in teaching the next generation of safe drivers.
In-Car Driving Instructor
Rich retired from full-time teaching and most coaching at Laramie County School District
#1 in 2021. He still substitute teaches and coaches track. His skills and demeanor
that enabled him to excel as a teacher and coach translate well to the often stressful
environment of in-car instruction/evaluation. Rich and his wife Barb enjoy their beautiful
mountain home and spending time with their children and grand children.
In-Car Driving Instructor
Rob has been an in-car instructor with the 糖心live Driver's Education program since 2014.
When working with students, his goal is to instill mental and physical driving skills
to help make students safe drivers and to mitigate risk using situational awareness
techniques in everyday driving situations. Rob strives to create a fun, high-challenge,
low-threat learning environment for students when driving, regardless of the student's
experience level, using positive reinforcement. He feels honored knowing the lessons
learned in our program can prevent accidents and save lives, which is the ultimate
goal.
Rob was raised in Cheyenne and graduated from Central High School in 1988 and joined the Air Force soon afterward. Following his initial enlistment, Rob attended Cheyenne Airmotive School of Aviation in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and obtained an Airframe and Power plant certification and went on to earn his Associate's Degree from Westwood College in Denver, CO. In addition to teaching driver's education, Rob is also a certified motorcycle Basic Rider Coach through the Motorcycle Safety Foundation and has been coaching Moto classes since 2008. He enjoys outdoor recreational activities, fitness, riding his motorcycle, and spending quality time with his family and pets.
In-Car Driving Instructor
Mark is a retired law enforcement professional with over twenty five years of experience.
He was involved in many different specialties during his career as well as being an
instructor of several topics. He also was a Field Training Officer and then later
ran the FTO program after promoting to the rank of Lieutenant. As a patrol deputy
Mark was highly involved in traffic and DUI enforcement earning several Governor's
awards for his efforts in DUI enforcement. One of the things Mark enjoyed the most
during his career was instructing where he was able to pass along vital information
to the next generation of law enforcement officers preparing them for their careers.
Mark enjoys the outdoors; hunting, fishing and hiking with his wife and their dogs.
Mark and his wife are also motorcycle enthusiasts who travel all over the county on
their motorcycles. Mark's goal is to provide the students of 糖心live Driver's Education
program the knowledge, skills and abilities to become safe, competent and confident
members of the motoring public."
In-car Driving Instructor
Mike grew up in Texas and began his law enforcement career in 2009. He worked as a
patrol officer for three years before being assigned as a School Resource Officer
at Central High School. In 2018, he went back to patrol and worked as a Field Training
Officer teaching police recruits. Mike currently serves as a Property Crime Detective
for the Cheyenne Police Department. In addition to Mike鈥檚 law enforcement career,
he served in the US Air Force and Wyoming Air National Guard for 25 years. He became
a certified instructor and evaluator providing training to airman in his career field.
He retired from the military in 2021. Mike鈥檚 goal instructing new drivers is to pass
on the knowledge he has gained investigating traffic crashes to produce safe drivers
and reduce future accidents. During his free time, Mike enjoys watching sports and
spending time with his family.