A few newb questions

[MikeHoncho]

Greetings Ladies and Gents,
I have a few questions that I hope you'll be good enough to help with. I am a High School teacher and have held a CHL for almost 4 years. Recent events have prompted some real "soul searching" for me lately, as I am sure they have for some of you. I find myself asking, "what can I do?"

There are several teachers on my campus that have expressed interest in obtaining their CHL and I am sure that if the word gets spread there will be more in the district. I am toying with the idea of getting my Instructor's certificate and offering training at a severely discounted price for teachers (just enough to cover my cost.)

Like many here, I believe that our schools are victim zones. If a situation, like that in Connecticut, happened on my campus there would be absolutely nothng I could do to defend my students. I know this won't allow teachers to carry at school but it will hopefully raise awareness and bring people back from the dark side.


So my questions to you are as follows:

1. In an effort to keep costs down I would like to avoid shooting ranges, plus I have heard horror stories about ranges being hostile to new instructors. There is a teacher interested in the course that may be open to the shooting portion taking place on his land. Does the range portion have to be at an "official" range or can it be on someones land out in the country?

2. I've looked on the DPS site but info is a bit vauge for instructors. What is the approximate total cost involved from start to finish for an instructor?

3. I'm aware that the Instructor course is a 36 hour commitment. That won't be a problem if I wait until Summer vacation but can I choose the class dates or do I get what I'm assigned?


I'm sure I will have more questions as I investigate this process but I appreciate any help you can provide.

[MikeHoncho]

No help?

[jmra]

You do not have to use an "official" range. The rest I can't help you with other than to say I think there are a number of instructors that are helping teachers with the class. I have even heard about free classes. Unless you really want to become an instructor I would look for someone who is giving discounted classes.

Always good to speak with another educator who is like minded.

[RHenriksen]

Hi Mike, welcome to the forum

I'm afraid I'm not an instructor, but hopefully we can scare someone up to help you w. these questions. If you snoop around here, you should find a few threads about current instructors offering to teach K-12 teachers FREE of charge. You could probably help get more teachers onboard with their CHLs, more quickly, by identifying one or more instructors in your area who'd be willing to help out in this way.

While your school district might not be comfortable with immediately changing their policy to allow teachers to carry, it cannot hurt to have a growing number of teachers go through the training, get their CHLs, and represent a growing number of people in the district who will support such a policy change.

Please keep us posted on how it goes!

[Crossfire]

DPS no longer certifies ranges, so you can use any safe area for the proficiency test.

The instructor class costs $100, plus the cost of room and board for the week. And you must qualify with both semi-auto and revolver, so you need both firearms and sufficient ammo for both.

You need to make your own lesson plan. DPS only supplies you with the required topics. How you teach them is up to you, as long as you spend the required time.

You will have printing costs for your lesson plans, tests, any of the application materials you provide such as CHL-16, etc.

You also need to purchase liability insurance. Ours was purchased through the NRA, and costs about $400 per year. That covers us in the classroom, and at several named ranges. In case you do need to use a commercial range, most require you to have your own insurance.

I estimate that it took us the entire first year to recoup our expenses, but we also had technology expenses, such as laptop, projector, etc. You can choose to invest as much, or as little as you wish.

Good luck to you!

[Neverpanic1]

I believe the instructor class fee went up to $200 (not certain) and must have their NRA certification prior to attending the Instructor's Class as of this year.