City of Little Rock 311

Friendly Driver Program Teacher

The City of Little Rock seeks between five and ten Friendly Driver Program Teachers (Teachers) to co-develop and instruct the Friendly Driver Program (Program). Click here for the job description and read below for an expanded explanation.  These details are intended to provide a deeper understanding of what the Teacher will do but are not meant to be a complete list of duties.  Applicants are also encouraged to watch the video and explore the links on the main Program page to better understand the position and their fit to it.  Apply for the position by clicking the "APPLY" button below.

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Aggressive Schedule

Applications for Program Teachers close on Friday, August 3rd, applicants will be notified whether they are hired by Thursday, August 9th, and Program Teachers who have not yet taken a SMART Cycling course must be available to take the course Saturday, August 11th and possibly the morning of Sunday, August 12th (see below).  We recognize this timeline is aggressive and may be logistically challenging for Program Teachers, but it is the timeline that is required for the Program to be in compliance with the timeline proposed in the AARP Livable Communities Grant.

Gig Economy Approach

Program Teachers will be compensated for the training required to teach the Program.  After the Program is developed and Program Teachers are trained to teach it, classes will be scheduled.  Once a class is scheduled, all Program Teachers will be asked about their availability to teach that class.  A Program Teacher will then be selected from among those available.  Priority may be given to 1) Teachers with LCI certification, 2) Teachers who have yet to complete their minimum number of classes (below), and 3) Teachers with strong student evaluations.  Classes will likely be approximately two hours long; Program Teachers will typically be compensated an additional 1/2 hour for set-up and tear down.

All trained Program Teachers are expected to teach or co-teach at least one class, all Program Teachers who took the SMART Cycling course at the City's expense are expected to teach or co-teach at least two classes, and all Program Teachers LCI certified at the City's expense are expected to teach or co-teach at least five classes between the date of hire and November 5, 2018.

SMART Cycling Course (required)

The League of American Bicyclists SMART Cycling Program contains essential information to teach the Friendly Driver course.  Applicants who intend to take LCI certification (see below) must either have already taken the SMART Cycling course prior to application or be available to take the course on Saturday, August 11th and possibly the morning of Sunday, August 12th. 

The course is a total of six hours, typically 9am-12pm in-class and 1-4pm parking lot and on-street practical skills.  However, students taking the class should block off 1-4pm on the 11th and 9-12pm on the 12th for the outdoor portion of the course.  The instructor will make a determination of which time is optimal during the week of August 6th based on the weather forecast.

Even for applicants not intending to take LCI certification, strong preference will be given to applicants who have either already taken the SMART Cycling course or who can take it on August 11th-12th. Registration for the course will be covered by the City and Program Teachers will be compensated for their time taking the course.

Program Teachers who have not taken SMART Cycling on or before August 12th are not guaranteed to remain in the Program.  Depending on the needs of the Program and availability of an LCI-certified instructor, Program Teachers may have the opportunity to take a make-up SMART Cycling course Sept. 8th or Sept. 15th.  If this is not possible, depending on the needs of the Program, a Program Teacher may be allowed to substitute successful completion of the online Traffic Skills 101 course http://www.bikeed.org/. 

League Certified Instructor Program (preferred)

Preference will be given to applicants who are either already League Certified Instructors (LCIs) or who are available to take the LCI certification course August 31st – Sept. 2nd.  For hired Program Teachers taking the LCI course, the Program will pay the $350 registration fee and the $40 one-year membership to the League of American Bicyclists (if Teacher is not already a LAB member on Aug. 31st).  Program Teachers will be paid a $100 stipend for taking the course in lieu of hourly compensation during LCI certification.  Applications for Program Teachers who will not be LCI certified by Sept. 2nd will also be considered.

Program Development

The Program Supervisor will take the lead on developing the Program, but will depend on Program Teachers and BikePed Little Rock to provide feedback and suggested edits on program elements prior to launch (especially PowerPoint slides and outline).  In this way, Program Teachers will be co-developing the Program.

Program Training

In addition to SMART Cycling (required) and LCI (preferred), Teachers will have to train to teach the Program.  This will include some background reading on pedestrian and transit issues (SMART Cycling and LCI certification are bicycle-focused) as well as practicing the presentation of the Program.

Collect Metrics

Metrics that gauge the Program's success will be critical to the future of the Program after November 2018.  The City of Little Rock and BikePed Little Rock are involved in many worthy projects.  Is the Program worth continued allocation of time, money, and energy after November 2018, even at the expense of other worthy projects?  It is important that we are able to answer the questions:  "What were the impacts of this program?" and "Is this an effective program worthy of additional resources?".  The Program Supervisor will give Teachers the necessary tools to collect Program metrics.

Other Program Demands

Making the program a success will require a variety of different skills.  Teachers are primarily responsible for co-developing and teaching the Program.  However, if a Teacher has a proficiency in another aspect of Program administration, he/she would be welcomed (though not required) to contribute that skill to the success of the Program (see also Program Supervisor job functions).  For example, a Teacher with a strong photography background may have the opportunity to take photos for the Program based on Program needs.  The BikePed Coordinator, Program Supervisor, and Program Teachers will constitute a Program Team that will work cooperatively toward the success of the Program.

Friendly Driver Program Mission

It is critical to the success of the Program that Teachers understand the mission and perspectives of likely students in the Program.  The mission of the program is to teach people who primarily or exclusively drive how to drive more safely around people on bikes, pedestrians, and transit users and encourage them to do so.  The mission is NOT to promote a certain transportation mode(s) or to place undue blame for collisions or safety issues on one transportation mode over another.  Teaching the course as a bicycle advocate will alienate your students and make you a less effective Program Teacher.

Watch the video of a comparable class.  Expect pushback about how people on bikes and other transportation modes do not follow traffic laws (whataboutism).  Be prepared to discuss how all road users (regardless of their transportation mode) are fallible and errors can cause collisions, but alert and defensive road users (regardless of their transportation mode) can also compensate for the mistakes of others and prevent collisions.  All road users should be more interested in preventing collisions and injuries than "being right" or "proving a point".  Be prepared to discuss educational outreach efforts aimed at other transportation modes.  Part of Teacher training will be discussing expected challenges and how to address them.

Understand that there will likely be student questions to which you don't know the answer.  You will be in a position of authority representing the City of Little Rock.  Rather than answer a question incorrectly, take down the question, find the answer to the question after the class is over, and email the entire class with the unanswered questions and their answers.

If you have any questions about the Friendly Driver Program or about applying for the Teacher position, please contact BikePed Little Rock at jlandosky@littlerock.gov.  Applications are due by August 3, 2018.  Applicants for the Program Supervisor position need not also apply to the Program Teacher position to be considered for it (but can choose to if they would like to highlight additional qualifications).  We will ask qualified Program Supervisor applicants not hired as the Program Supervisor whether or not they would be interested in being a Program Teacher.

We look forward to your joining the team to make Little Rock roads safer places for people!