On Tuesday, February 15, 2022, it was announced that in partnership with The Maria Tiberi Foundation, Eastland Career Center will become the home of the nation’s second virtual driving simulation lab.
Dom Tiberi, founder of The Maria Tiberi Foundation, revealed on live television on Tuesday evening that Eastland-Fairfield Career & Technical Schools and the Eastland Career Center would be the next recipient of 25 driving simulators. The simulators, which are fully equipped with state-of-the-art technology and educational software, will be installed in a dedicated driving lab at ECC and support the foundation’s mission to combat distracted driving.
“We are thrilled to partner with Eastland-Fairfield because we know this state-of-the-art simulator lab will make the students better drivers,” said Dom Tiberi, founder of the Maria Tiberi Foundation and sports anchor for WBNS 10TV. “Car crashes remain the leading killer of our children and that is simply not acceptable. We need to change the culture, we need to educate our kids better and this simulator lab is a big step in the right direction. My wife, Terri, and I are so thankful for the support from Eastland-Fairfield, Eastland Career Center, and from the community to end this madness that is taking our youngest and our brightest.”
The virtual driving lab is being prepared in the Auto Academy building at Eastland Career Center and is scheduled to open officially in Fall 2022. Superintendent and CEO of Eastland-Fairfield, Dr. Kimberly Pietsch Miller, plans to make the driving simulation lab available to students from both career centers, its Adult Workforce Development learners, and high school students from within the EFCTS district that are preparing to become or are new drivers.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with the Maria Tiberi Foundation to support safe driving,” said Dr. Miller. “Like others in Central Ohio, we at Eastland-Fairfield have been impacted by the loss and pain caused by traffic accidents and distracted driving. Career technical education is about preparing students for the world of work. There is no better place to implement a virtual driving simulation lab than in a career center where we focus on key employability skills such as safety, responsibility, and good decision-making.”
The Maria Tiberi Foundation placed its first virtual driving simulators at Tolles Career & Technical Center in Plain City, Ohio in 2018. All students participate in a 16-module distracted driving course. Driving simulators have also been donated to multiple police and sheriff departments, insurance offices, and hospitals around the Columbus area
ABOUT THE MARIA TIBERI FOUNDATION The Maria Tiberi Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) community-supported organization that encourages defensive driving and educates about the dangers of distracted driving. The foundation is named in memory of Maria Tiberi, the daughter of WBNS 10TV sports anchor Dom Tiberi, whose life tragically ended after a traffic accident caused by distracted driving. “Maria’s Message” is dedicated to stopping the epidemic of teen deaths caused by distracted driving car crashes. Since the founding of the Maria Tiberi Foundation, Maria’s Message has been shared with more than 120,000 high school students at more than 120 different high schools.
--
Eastland-Fairfield Career & Technical Schools is the seventh-largest career and technical district, geographically, in the State of Ohio. We serve more than 5,000 students in 16 school districts throughout Franklin, Fairfield and Pickaway counties. The district has two main campuses — Eastland Career Center in Groveport and Fairfield Career Center in Carroll, with satellite locations at six of its associate high schools: Gahanna Lincoln, Groveport Madison, New Albany, Pickerington North, Canal Winchester, and Reynoldsburg. At Eastland-Fairfield Career & Technical Schools, we seek to enrich lives by delivering exceptional career-technical educational outcomes for a changing world. Visit us online at www.eastlandfairfield.com and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for regular updates.