Parents please proceed with extreme caution. We chose this for the convenience of the online modules vs. doing the didactic component in class each day due to our sons busy schedule. There were limited spots, so his driving ended up being in a part of town where we do not live and he will likely not drive in for many years. It sounds like there is a ton of variability across instructors also in reference to the quality of instruction, where they drive, and the test-out procedures. Our instructor lacked professionalism, did not provide feedback, and did not communicate with the parents (as we were told was standard for their program). I was familiar with the myriad of negative reviews prior to enrolling our child, but due to Driving with Cops being booked out for many months, we reluctantly chose this program. I would caution against making the same mistake that we did and would encourage families to wait for openings with Driving with Cops. Its a lot of money, but more importantly, ensuring our children are adequately prepared to safely drive should be a priority. I now know why Driving with Cops is booked out for months!

I completed the Street Smarts driving course with instructor Chris Drake earlier this year. He was incredibly patient with me even when I was nervous and consistently gave me constructive feedback that has helped me with my driving even after finishing the course. He was also punctual and had a structured plan of our routes and breaks. Even though me and my other driving partner had to drive in snowy conditions for our final test, he did a great job of navigating the both of us and getting us back safe. From my successful experience, I highly recommend this course and specifically Chris Drake, especially with nervous or inexperienced drivers.

Chris Drake was the instructor for my daughter and I am very thankful she had him! She felt very confident in her driving by the time her class was done and she has done great now that she’s on her own. I will definitely send my son to him!

My daughter recently completed her Street Smarts driving course with instructor Chris Drake. Chris was accommodating, caring, and shared his critiques with my daughter without being overly critical. Chris also recently taught both of my nieces to drive, and they literally had no driving experience. My sister and brother-in-law specifically told us to ask for Chris when my daughter’s drive times opened up due to their positive experience and we are really glad that we did. Thank you Chris! We really appreciate you!

I loved my experience at Street Smarts! Jenny was my instructor and she was very professional and gave me a great advice on how to drive safely. The cars were in great condition and overall I had a very good time!

My daughter graduated from both Drive With Cops and then later Street Smarts (Roosevelt HS location in Des Moines). She definitely preferred Street Smarts! Both schools had nice, patient instructors but the biggest difference between the two was the drive time experience.Drive with Cops never challenged her on the drives. They didn’t take her on the interstate or downtown (she was more than ready for it, mature & confident). For some reason the instructor played it safe and most the drives were basic roads and parking lots! When I emailed Drive with Cops at the halfway point to express my concern about the lack of different driving situations for her drive time, they said they dont go downtown and as far as interstate driving that its up to each officers discretion. So needless to say, after she graduated there, I just felt more comfortable if she also did another school.Street Smarts was very, very thorough. You really felt like you got your moneys worth and that your kid got the most experience possible. They had a lot of checkboxes to mark off and my daughter was downtown and on the interstate for most of her drives. I really felt like as a parent, Street Smarts prepared my daughter better and gave her way more experiences.

My kid had a great experience with their Drivers Ed class. The teacher in the car was patient with my nervous driver. The online class was informative and I learned some new things also! Will recommend them to others!

I recently took classes through them. Scott was my trainer. I shared details about how much experience I have as a novice driver and the inhibitions and areas that need improvement. Scott monitored me in local roads on the first day and taught me a Freeway class on the second day. He was calm and friendly in teaching and giving instructions as I drove. He shared inputs about what could be done better and what I was doing good. That sort of boosted my confidence. I have slowly started driving with more confidence and hoping to be a good driver soon. The other helpful part with these folks is that they pick and drop you at your own address. They charged $75 per 1 hr class.

I took the 6 hour course plus an extra hour of practice before the road test. My instructor Scott Omvig was fantastic! He is very personable, patient and encouraging, which helped me feel comfortable and gain confidence. He is very knowledgeable, and teaches in a way that is easy to understand. He not only focused on me just passing the test, but also taught me the skills to be a safe driver. Thank you so much for helping me get my license!

This bit goin slow af

Parents proceed with caution. It is atypical for me to write these type of reviews, but I do so with the intent for parents to be aware of what they are buying. 1. No refunds or discount provided even if they cannot provide you with quality.2. Driver instructors are falling asleep during the drive time.3. Poor communication between instructors and administration.4. Poor communication between instructors and DOT.5. Limited understanding of how DOT currently functions during COVID.6. Vague promises of making things better without concrete plan.

Disappointed with Street Smarts. They need to be more understanding with issues. They only let you complete 3 online classes per day. We pay for the class, an insane amount btw, he should get to complete the classes when HE is able....it’s online so it shouldn’t be a big deal. But they will make to pay MORE money if you have any kind of issue that results in one of the classes getting submitted past midnight. Such a joke. Not to mention they are required to wear a mask, but the instructor didn’t?? He was always stopping for food and eating/drinking during the drive time. He can’t go 2 hours without eating???? I suggest looking into driving with cops. We have a couple more yet to go thru drivers ed....will NOT use Street Smarts again. Ugh.

We were signed up for the June 1-12 class. Since the class went online due to Covid I contacted them ahead of that date to be sure my son would get the paid 6 hours driving time in before August as we are not available that month...was told yes. It is now July 13 and although I’m following up weekly, we have not heard from a driving instructor and they refuse to provide any contact info to us so we can call and schedule directly. Also...be sure to check out their “educational” video on how to make beer and what different wood barrels are used to make different types of liquor. The only question that test asked was how long have people in America have been drinking alcohol!?

Friendly, knowledgeable staff and instructors. Great job working with kids no matter their confidence level. I appreciate them taking on the responsibility to teach these kids. Summer program is shorter (fewer weeks not hours) which is convenient but really ramps up how fast they go from parking lot to freeway.

I followed car 83 a Hyundai elantra. And from 120 and Center to 108th and L, in Omaha. He was by himself and on his phone and all over the road! Unless he was drunk!

My daughters just got done taking the Christmas break class in Clive. It was a great experience over all. They enjoyed the teacher and the guest speakers and their driving instructor Brett was amazing with them!! Completely happy with this program!

Great place for kids to learn how to drive safely. Nice instructors and clean cars.

My son took this course last fall, the class room time was ok teacher was knowledgeable and helpful. Then came drive times, During the drive the instructor was constantly stopping for food. To the point my son had to ask him multiple times to move the half gallon of milk so he could put the car in gear! Hi instructions included “turn up at the house with the mailbox”. And then got angry when my son didn’t choose the right mailbox. Then to top it off the test time was 9 pm! So it was very dark and it was snowing heavy (we hadn’t had any snow so the kids had not had experience in snow). He then docked the kids points for driving UNDER the speed limit IN a snow storm! Needless to say it was the most ludicrous thing I had ever experienced. My daughter had the same instructor a couple years prior and after my son voiced his frustration she also told similar horror stories. Maybe street smarts should drive more with their teachers

Both my sons went through the program recently in Newton and I can tell you the teaching was great and the behind the wheel was better. Mr. B did all types of drives with them, even first time on the interstate. Great program for Newton and the area.

So after my expierence today I had to leave this review. I cant speak for for this business treats its customers or if they do a good job teaching as I have never done business with them. I can tell you that today while driving on interstate in Omaha , Ne I was almost hit and had to swerve off the road to avoid one of there drivers from hitting me. I just thought the fact that this is a man that is suppose to be instructing others how to drive was worth posting about.White ImpalaIowa tagsCar number 114

I LOVED my drivers ed experience !! my instructor was mr. brown, he is super funny and made the class so easy to learn. i am glad to have had him as a teacher and am thankful for my drive times i had with him as well - filled with carpool karaoke and discussions of why he should like taylor swift, but overall it was a great experience and i would totally recommend everyone to take drivers ed through street smarts and hopefully have mr. brown as the teacher :)

My son just completed their program. The instructor in the class room was very great, however, the person whom he drove with was extremely rude. Dwayne I believe his name was. My son signed up for a time that worked for us and the driving instructor kept changing it without notice. Even made him drive on a day he did not have his permit simply because he didnt want to stay for the scheduled time. Also there was one time we need to change the time because of problems with another student (which he signed up to NOT drive with) and I had to pay the $25.00 and the driving instructor wanted to kick him out of the class all together which is not procedure. He also texted and played on his phone most of the time he was driving with my son. When its time for my youngest to take drivers ed we will definitely use Drive with Cops instead!!!

Update. .After speaking with someone more knowledgable and accommodating, we were helped. Thank you. Original post. ..Go with Driving with Cops. There are many things they dont disclose until after youve paid. Like you can only miss 2 days or youre kicked out without a refund. Some times life happens and when I pay $350 for a service, they should be more accommodating.also a $25 fee when changing drive times. Please keep in mind Im not necessarily upset they have these policies, Im upset that they dont disclose this any many other things prior to one paying the registration fee. They have a low star rating for a reason.

My daughter had a very bad experience here. I believe things have changed a lot through the years, as my other 2 kids that took here didn’t have such stories to tell. Each night after class I was hearing about things the instructor would say to the class and my daughter was very stressed by it. Many of the things he would say seemed inappropriate. The teacher was scary regimented and even admitted to the class he was an “a...hole” and laughed and sad what can I say? In particular, the cell phone issue. The kids are used to having their phones at school, etc., so not touching their phones through the 3 hour class is difficult. We had a family member in ICU and a few other issues going on and my daughter got in trouble for checking her phone. I believe she was labeled as “one of those kids” from the beginning. My daughter felt that the teacher would overlook other kids fumbling with their phone, but was always on her about hers. The final day she got into trouble, earlier that day she was a victim of a bullying incident from a girl in the driver’s ed class. It was serious and my daughter was upset going into class, as the girl sat behind her. My daughter quickly clicked on her phone during class (like many other kids) and the teacher, in front of the entire class, took her phone and stamped her sheet stating she now had to take the driving test with the DOT. Given the bullying incident earlier, my daughter didn’t handle it very well. She was feeling like it was coming from all directions at this point. The teacher and her came to my car when I picked her up and he told me about the phone trouble. My daughter was in tears and was trying to get him to change his mind about the driving test. This was her worst nightmare having to take that test. I also tried to talk to him, but he really could not “hear” what I was saying and had little compassion. My daughter ended up getting in the car and did say to me “He’s such an a-hole”. This was loud enough that he heard. Needless to say she was kicked out of driver’s ed and we were told she isn’t welcomed there. I asked for a refund and was told no. The management said that my daughter was verbally abusive. That’s our story. My daughter was at fault in the end. Just letting you all know our experience.I think part of the negatives with them are they are a monopoly here so know you have your hands tied and that it’s difficult to find quality instructors. I honestly believe that both the classroom and driving instructor had a personality disorder or were odd to say the least. My other mom friend had unfriendly dealings with the driving instructor as well. I can tell you the head lady, when I called to try and move her to a different instructor for the last two classes, would not consider my daughter’s side of the story and only supported the teacher. I understand her comment at the end was inappropriate, but I honestly understood her frustration. I think it’s primarily a money making operation that could give two hoots about our kids.FYI: Two of the 5 star reviews below are bogus. Street Smarts gives one, and the owner James Meinecke gives the other. So really, their composite score would be much lower which comes out to 2.43 when you remove those two reviews.

The cost of drivers ed is ridiculously expensive! What a rip-off!! Should be a course offered at school. Just another way to isolate those that can afford and those that cannot!

Extremely Unorganized instructors!!!

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