Thank you for taking the time to look over this page.  There are so many reasons why EDI should be your preferred choice, let me start out with a couple common emails I've received over the years...

 

"Hi my son, Austin completed the driving course with another driving school. He has tried to pass his Road Test and failed 3X's. I think he would greatly benefit from your either 1 or 2 hour driving class with EDI.  We have heard some great things about your school but didn't realize this until after he had signed up with another school ;( "

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"My daughter took her classroom portion about two years ago at another school and was a little hesitant about driving. She is ready to go now and would really like to get her license this summer. The business that she did her classroom stuff with has not returned any of my calls/emails for the past month so I'm pretty much giving up on them. I emailed another business last week and they haven't got back to me either. I'm hoping EDI will be able to help. It's getting so frustrating to try to get something scheduled. If you could call/email I would really appreciate it! "

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"Many drivers, believe that passing their road test means they have done all the training necessary to be a safe and aware driver".  At EDI, we see it far different as we want teens to view passing their road test as the equivalent to being accepted onto the varsity soccer team.  Practice doesn't end, it now becomes more intense and necessary to strengthen skill development.  Because of this, we are preparing our students with a solid foundation of knowledge and skill while building an understanding of "lifetime skill development"

 

 

Classroom Instruction

 

This page is designed to show you why our program is the best choice for driver's education.  We have not embellished on anything that we do.  Our program was built on the foundation of being the best educator for drivers of all ages.  As you look through our website you will find that we offer many levels of training from our standard driver's ed package, to our "plus" and "Ultimate" package along with Winter Driving Courses and our Defensive Driver Course.  How is it we offer so many more options for driver's training then other schools?  Because we are the experts in Driver's Education!  

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​"If a student doesn't learn, your money is only buying a small piece of paper saying they spent 30 hours in a classroom"  That is expensive paper!

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The state of MN requires student to complete 30 hours of classroom instruction with a State Certified Instructor.  Besides some required content, the expectation is very minimal.  EDI raises the bar by providing students with a more engaging  classroom based education that truly prepares them for the application of driving.  No other program can offer students the quality and depth of training that we provide.  Not to mention our students enjoy their classroom time as we use relatable content to stimulate learning.

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Parent Session

We recognize the tremendous influence a parent has in the success or failure of their teen driver.   You will spend 10 times the amount of time with your teen behind the wheel then we will, so it is vitally important we are on the same "training" page.  This 1.5 hour session is blended into the final classroom session of our student's Lesson 10.  You will come out with a much stronger understanding of what we do and what is necessary of you during the next year.  A powerful presentation that will be well worth your time.

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If your teenager picked up a violin for the first time, spent 6-hours playing... where would you rate their skills?  Road skills are developed through hundreds of hours time behind-the-wheel.  We are here to make sure training stays on track.

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The state of MN requires students to complete 6 hours of behind-the-wheel instruction with a State Certified Instructor.  The requirement is duration of time, not quality of training.   Should that be concerning to parents?  Most definitely!  At EDI we realize that 6-hours with us will have minimal impact on students without a structured training program.  So we do two things that will help our students get the most out of our time behind the wheel.



1)  We do three 2-hour driving lessons.  Because our training requires exposing students to certain driving situations and environments, less time would limit the opportunity to truly access a student.   We provide a detailed assessment after each driving lesson reviewing strengths and weaknesses of the student.  This gives teens and parents and opportunity to work on specific areas to further build skill development.



2) We train parents to be "Parent Instructors".  Because you have the most influence on your teen's road success, we want to help you be the best instructor you can be.  We provide a parent session that brings us all up to speed on what's required of you and we supply you with the New Driver Road Packet.  This is a 50 page book containing 10 "Parent Run" driving lessons, detailed descriptions on how to perform certain driving maneuver and ample tools for teens to build their skill and understanding. 

Behind the Wheel Instruction

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Our Instructors

We have built a team of instructors that mirror the goals and objectives EDI was founded upon.  Our instructors are all state licensed, educated and focused on building skill and understanding though clear concise direction and written assessment. 

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We recognize that students are often nervous during driving lessons.  Because of this we are patient and relaxed in the car.  Though we have a brake on our side of the car, we put a lot of trust into our students and it shows through our direction and the support we offer students.  We provide a link to a survey after each driving lessons so students/parents can express their opinion on how the lesson went.  We believe in keeping the lines of communication open so we are able to continuously improve upon what we offer.

     

Our Training Cars                                                                                                                               

It's not just the car, it's what we have in it!   Our vehicle selection is chosen with your 

teen in mind.  Safe, reliable, comfortable and a solid vehicle to help students transition

into other types of vehicles.  

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Most importantly, we have a highly trained driving instructor in the car with you.  (see 

above).

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Cameras - we have cameras in the classroom and training cars so your teen is always

safe and we know we are getting the most out of our instructors.  



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After Class Tasks

 

The biggest component that is missing from classroom component of Driver's Education is that driving is an application... simple as that.  You wouldn't spend 30 hour in a class learning to play soccer, you blend the learning with the doing.  To become a good driver you must know and understand the rules, however "actually driving" is where skills are developed through hands on experience.  

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Because our students do not have the opportunity to drive during their classroom education, we require them to perform one 10 minute task after each classroom session.  These tasks expose them to the physical side of driver's education. 



These not only reinforce the things we teach in our classroom, but also forces them to see the reality of driving while learning the theory in class.

 

 

New Driver Handbook

One of the many things that separate us from other driving schools is our EDI - New Driver Handbook.  This book is included for all of our Complete Package students and is filled with a tremendous amount of valuable information for the new driver and the parent instructor. 

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50 pages training tips, state requirements, 10 parent lead driving lessons to help give your training structure and almost 20 pages of detailed instruction on how to prepare your teen for the challenges of driving.  The combination of your commitment to training, this New Driver Handbook and the instruction your teen will receive with EDI, we will build the lowest risk drivers on the road.  

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Parent Session

We  put on a parent session the last half of our final classroom session to bring parents up to speed on what's required of them, as well as help  build their confidence and understanding of their role as a Parent Instructor.  

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We consistently have over a 95% turnout for our parent session and I must say, I could not be more proud of the commit our teens and parents show in their driver's education.   This session is a powerful presentation that focuses in on state law changes for teen drivers, Tips to help improve communication during the stresses of instruction as well as review of our handbook and what EDI expects of parents over the training months.  



We have had tremendous feedback from parents who have attended this session and it is a critical component to the success of our teen drivers.   For more information, visit our Parents Portal by clicking the tab to the right.

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Additional Training

Besides offering additional  time behind the wheel (2 and 6 hour driving packages and our road test prep), we offer an advanced course for the winter months:  "The Winter Driver" is an opportunity to educate teens as they further develop their skills as a driver.  

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The driver's license should never be an indicator that your teen has driving figured out. There are far to many variables to driving and mistakes that can happen.  The reason 16 year old's are the highest risk drivers is because their education has stopped and they no longer have someone in the passenger seat reinforcing good behavior.  Reinforce good decisions and understanding through our additional training courses.  

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EDI Gives Back to our communities

At EDI, we believe in making a difference in our community.  Whether it is a donation to RYSA, auction or fundraiser we contribute over $6000 each year.   Each year we sponsor teams through Rochester Youth Soccer, hockey as well as donate to many school district fundraisers throughout the city.