Thinking about signing up for Rhodes Driving School? This driving school is a local favorite in the San Antonio, TX area as they have been in business for more than 30 years.
Many students at Rhodes Driving School are second generation, meaning they are going to the same local driving school their parents went to. Pretty cool!
As a former driving instructor, I created this blog as a way to help improve the driver education industry and hold driving schools accountable for the level of education they provide.
While it’s unfortunate, there are many deceitful things that driving schools do to increase profits, which admittedly are already razor-thin.
This Rhodes Driving School review is being provided so that you know what my personal opinion of this school is, based on my MANY reviews and prior experience in the driver education industry.
Quick Overview Of Rhodes Driving School
Rhodes driving school has been around for more than 30 years and operates out of 5 different locations in the greater San Antonio, TX area:
- Helotes
- Ellison
- Eckhert
- Brook Hollow
- Boerne
All of their vehicles are specially equipped vehicles for driver education with a brake pedal accessible to the driving instructor.
Rhodes Driving School operates both classroom and behind-the-wheel classroom training, however, many students choose to take their classroom portion online. If you do take the classroom portion online, you can still use their behind-the-wheel training.
Check Out My Top Rated ONLINE Driving School For Texas Here!
My Opinion Of Rhodes Driving School And Their Overall Reputation
Rhodes Driving School appears to be legit and this is indeed a driving school I would recommend, but they aren’t perfect.
When I first began researching Rhodes Driving School, I was a bit concerned due to their very low (1 star) Yelp ratings. As I read further, they all complain of the same issue (not enough instructors available for driving time).
Upon further investigation, I noticed there is also a complaint in their Better Business Bureau rating which has created an A- rating. This one complaint is also in regards to the lack of instructor availability.
I also determined this complaint was not connected to any of the Yelp reviews.
Strangely enough, Rhodes Driving School has about 200 reviews through Google Reviews, which is way more than any other review platform.
This leads me to believe that they solicit their students to write reviews on the Google platform, although I have no proof of this.
What can certainly be said about these reviews on Google is that they are overwhelmingly positive with nearly a 5-star rating. By sorting negative reviews only, it once again appears the recurring issue of scheduling keeps coming up.
While on the surface the lack of available instructors appears to be something to be concerned with, it is honestly an issue that nearly ALL driving schools face.
There are simply not enough driving instructors around and it appears that Rhodes Driving School prefers to hire instructors that have some experience rather than any ol’ brand new driving instructor.
For this reason, I am willing to discount those poor reviews. It’s just something negative in the industry in general.
In reality, Rhodes Driving School has received extremely positive reviews and their overall reputation is excellent compared to most other driving schools.
Alternatives To Rhodes Driving School
Most driving instructors and driving schools don’t really appreciate me saying this, but in the state of Texas, there is a MUCH better way to complete driver education requirements.
While every driver’s ed student is different, the vast majority learn the “classroom” portion much better through the use of a Texas state certified online drivers ed program.
By taking your course online, you can go through the training at your own pace with an interactive platform that delivers information in many different formats (video, written, text, quizzes, games, etc.) to help students retain information.
It is my personal opinion, as a former driving instructor, that online driver’s education has become far superior to classroom-based education.
Check Out My Top Recommended Online Driver’s Ed Course Here
Have You Considered Parent Taught Driver’s Ed?
If you’re going to use an online driving school to complete the classroom portion of your training, you may want to consider a Parent Taught Drivers Ed Course.
I personally believe Parent Taught Drivers Ed is one of the best things Texas has ever done.
Again, driving schools don’t like it, but it’s a total game-changer. Instead of getting into what Parent Taught Drivers Ed is and how it works, check out the below articles I created on this topic:
- How Does Parent Taught Drivers Ed In Texas Work?
- Parent Taught Drivers Ed In Texas – How To Get Started
To give you an idea, here is a quick guide on how the Parent-Taught Drivers Ed in Texas works.
Before signing up for any course, the first step that you need to do as the parent is to order a Parent-Taught Drivers Ed or PTDE Packet.
This is like an order form wherein you fill out a document that you have to print and send to the Texas Department of Public Safety, along with your payment.
Once you have secured approval from them, that’s the only time when you can sign up your teen for a Drivers Ed Course.
Once you have chosen your school and signed up for the course, your teen can now complete the first 6 hours of the theory part. Depending on the course format you chose, your teen may be able to complete this portion in one sitting.
By completing the theory portion and passing the course exam, teens will be able to get their learner’s permit. In turn, that will allow them to practice driving. To get the permit, you will be asked to submit the following:
- Birth certificate
- Social security card
- Driver’s ed certificate of completion
Next, they will need to complete the required driving hours with their parents or legal guardian.
As soon as they complete this part, they can go ahead and finish the remainder of their online driving course training and pass the final exam.
After passing the driving exam, they will need to wait for another 90 days to practice driving with their learner’s permit.
After 90 days, they will be asked to complete a special video course that is two hours long on the Texas DPS website.
After this, they can already set an appointment for their driving test. If they pass the first time, they’ll be able to get their driver’s license.
Parent Taught Drivers Ed In Texas – How To Get Started
Final Thoughts
While online driver education is the preferred method of driver training these days, my overall opinion of Rhodes Driving School is positive, especially when it comes to their classroom-based courses.
If you wish to use the traditional classroom-based driver’s education model, this would be a great local school to support.