This week has been exciting for the four students who attended the first cohort of the Mancos School District (MSD) Commercial Drivers Licenses (CDL) Class A course. This course prepares students to be in the highly paid field of logistics as semi-truck drivers in Colorado. Chauncey Aspromonte, Drake Kobel, Waylon Hale, and Cutter Bell completed the in-person instructional course, with Bart Small (Transportation Director) and Todd Cordrey (Superintendent) as the instructors. The students successfully passed the written test and completed the behind-the-wheel portion of the test with Dailey CDL Solutions, officially earning their Class A CDL.
The district piloted the program last spring with two successful students and two staff members receiving their licenses. This year, the program has grown with a cohort starting in January, and we will begin a second cohort on March 21.
The CDL program is part of MSD’s commitment to equipping students with career-ready skills and opening doors to high-demand job opportunities. Graduates of this program will be eligible for careers in commercial trucking, construction, agriculture, transportation logistics, and public service sectors, including school bus driving and municipal operations. These careers offer competitive wages, job security, and the potential for advancement.
This program's success would not be possible without the generous support of our donors and partners. We extend our deepest gratitude to Eclipse DOT, Dailey CDL Solutions, Dr. Opie Hainey, Piggyback Towing and Transportation and Tucker Transportation Inc. for their contributions, which have provided funding for training, testing fees, and instructional resources. An additional thank you needs to go out to our district staff: Transportation Director Bart Small, Superintendent Todd Cordrey, Registrar Tiffany Aspromonte, and CTE/Grants Director Janet Fogel. They have each equally supported this program in addition to their daily workload to see these students succeed.
The district looks forward to offering this program each spring semester moving forward.