Commercial Driver License
(CDL-A)

 

 

Upcoming Schedule:

 

Start Date: April 21st, 2025

Mandatory Orientation: March 21st from 6pm-8:30pm at North Country Career Center Room #436, 209 Veterans Avenue, Newport, VT 05855

OR

Start Date: July 1st, 2025

Mandatory Orientation: May 30th from 6pm-8:30pm at North Country Career Center Room #436, 209 Veterans Avenue, Newport, VT 05855

OR

Start Date: August 18th, 2025

Mandatory Orientation: July 18th from 6pm-8:30pm at North Country Career Center Room #436, 209 Veterans Avenue, Newport, VT 05855

OR

Start Date: October 6th, 2025

Mandatory Orientation: September 5th from 6pm-8:30pm at North Country Career Center Room #436, 209 Veterans Avenue, Newport, VT 05855

 

Tuition: $6500

**To hold a seat in the class, we are asking for a $350 registration fee that will go towards the total tuition cost. The $350 is a filing fee and is not refundable. You are not enrolled in the class until you pay the tuition in full. The filing fee must be paid by the orientation meeting. You can go to www.vtdrivered.com/cdl-courses to pay the class deposit. To save your spot please complete the form on this page. If you have trouble with the form please call Amanda at (802) 751-2314 or send an email to amanda.frattaroli@stjacademy.org**

 

Course Description
This course is designed for the beginner and includes all phases of CDL training, on the road and in the classroom. Class A training runs for a minimum of 150 hours, with time divided between hands on practical experience and theory. Class A CDLs allow for operation of a tractor and trailer.

 

Classroom training includes basic operation, safe operating practices, and vehicle systems. Lab, range, and road training includes pretrip inspections, straight line and offset backing, parallel parking, alley docking, coupling and uncoupling, speed and brake control, and shifting unsynchronized transmissions

 

Classes meet every weekday, Monday through Friday, from 8:30am to 4:30pm.  Expect the course to take at least six weeks, finishing after you earn your license.  Each day, class will begin with a meeting from 8:30am to12:30pm at North Country Career Center.  Students then have an hour’s break to grab lunch and travel to the driving range, located at 2279 Barton-Orleans Rd., Barton, VT 05822 (across the street from the Park View Garage just south of Orleans).  Students will remain on the range from 1:30pm to 4:30pm.  

 

Later in the class, once students have earned their permits, this schedule will change a little bit as students begin road driving one-on-one with the instructor – but you should still plan to reserve the full day every weekday for six weeks to attend the class in order to earn your required course hours for completion. 

 

 

Requirements for Enrollment

To be eligible for enrollment in a CDL course, students must:

  • Possess a valid Vermont Driver’s License
  • Have the ability to pass a Department of Transportation medical exam
  • Have the ability to pass a DOT substance screening test
  • Be at least 18 years old

 

Students are not considered enrolled until payment is received in full and they have had an informational interview with the Adult Education Program Director. Interviews will be scheduled after the registration form has been submitted. 

 

 

Job Outlook

Professional commercial drivers of trucks are in high demand. Jobs include but are not limited to local deliveries and over the road trucking, from tractor trailers (Class A) to straight trucks (Class B). According to VDOL, heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers in northern Vermont earn on average over $20 per hour.

 

 

Instructor
Timothy Garrow founded Precision Driver Training School in 2000. The school is licensed by the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles. All of the courses taught by The Precision Driver Training School have a core focus on crash avoidance. Tim has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, a Driver’s Educator endorsement and a Master’s degree in traffic safety. 

 

 

For questions or more information about this course contact Sandra Mings Lamar at (802) 748-7738 or sandra.mingslamar@stjacademy.org.

 

 

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