School Instructor Programs

Basic Instructor Certification

CVTA’s Basic Instructor Level teaches critical skills that establish the foundation for instructors to be immediately effective. The successive levels build upon this foundation are intended for instructors to build upon their skill development as they develop. An instructor brings a unique combination of content knowledge and work experience when training students. Instructors are the lifeblood of our member schools and extremely valuable to producing quality trained drivers.

Courses

Our Basic Instructor Certification Level is comprised of 7 separate courses to help instructors develop their skills when working with trainees.

Assessment Strategies
This course examines the use of rubrics, portfolios, and checklists for choosing optimal assessment types for desired lesson outcomes.
Conflict Management
This course examines conflict management and resolution techniques that will assist students and faculty in identifying and managing conflict situations.
Effective Lessons
An effective teacher knows how to capture, engage, and interact with his or her students. This course explores these skills by examining the components of lesson development, presentation techniques, and building an active learning classroom culture.
Learning Differences
Individuals approach learning in unique ways. It is important to design your curriculum with different learning styles in mind. This course examines learning differences and interpersonal intelligence.
Learning Objectives
The basic elements in developing a lesson plan are examined in this course. The topic is expanded by explaining why the success of any lesson plan depends on the quality of its learning objectives.
Managing Collaborative Learning Activities
This course looks at best practices for assigning collaborative learning projects. An examination of several common mistakes and planning pitfalls are covered; along, with learning to identify unforeseen risks encountered during a collaboration assignment.
Unit Planning
The unit is a planned subdivision of a course, an integral piece of the completed puzzle of the coursework you will make available to your students. Each is an essential element of a well-executed Unit Plan bringing structure to, and helping you manage, your college courses.

Kyle Hayes

Kyle Hayes is the Director of Government Relations at CVTA. In this role, he leads the implementation of the Association’s legislative and regulatory strategy. He is also the primary point of contact between CVTA Members and federal agencies, Congress, and state governments.

Hayes most recently led research projects that supported federal and state advocacy on healthcare and economic issues at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nationally recognized research and policy institute based in Washington D.C. He received a master’s degree in public policy from American University in 2015 and graduated from the University of Georgia in 2012.

Andrew Poliakoff

Andy Poliakoff is the Executive Director for CVTA. In this role, he promotes the mission of the membership organization and implements goals set by the Board of Directors. This includes forming partnerships with external stakeholders, providing guidance and direction to the CVTA staff team, and engaging with state and federal government agencies to advance CVTA’s mission of safety and career opportunities in the truck driver training industry.

In 2021 and 2022, Andy acted as federal affairs lead for Electrify America, interacting at high levels within Congress, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Department of Energy, and the White House. In that capacity, he played a pivotal role in the optimization of large-scale infrastructure funding at the Federal Highway Administration as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

From 2019 to 2021 Andy served as Director of Gov't Affairs for CVTA and formed a strong bond with members, engaging on advocacy related to Entry-Level Driver Training, Skills Testing Delays, and Workforce funding. During the pandemic, Andy fought at the state and federal level to treat CDL training and testing as the essential services they are. He is personally invested in the important mission of CVTA's members to deliver safe training and to transform people's lives through truck driving careers.

Andy holds a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University and a law degree from the Columbus School of Law at Catholic University.

Cindy Atwood

Cindy Atwood is the Vice President at CVTA. An experienced association professional, Cindy handles all activities related to membership retention, financial accounting and committee engagement. Cindy artfully produces CVTA’s off-site biannual conferences, Hill Day operations and Board meetings, ensuring that the general membership and leadership’s necessities and wishes are met with the highest response.

An essential fixture in the truck driver training association space, Cindy manages CVTA’s Instructor Certification Program and provides critical counsel to new entrants into the truck driver training industry.

Kyle Hayes

Kyle Hayes is the Director of Government Relations at CVTA. In this role, he leads the implementation of the Association’s legislative and regulatory strategy. He is also the primary point of contact between CVTA Members and federal agencies, Congress, and state governments.

Hayes most recently led research projects that supported federal and state advocacy on healthcare and economic issues at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nationally recognized research and policy institute based in Washington D.C. He received a master’s degree in public policy from American University in 2015 and graduated from the University of Georgia in 2012.