PEABODY — The School Committee has decided to support the district’s application to the Department of Elementary & Secondary Education (DESE) to continue the virtual school program for another year.
By taking a vote in support of the Peabody Personalized Remote Education Program (P.R.E.P.), the School Committee fulfilled a DESE requirement for the 2022-23 school year application.
“After year one, I think we can all say that it has been incredibly successful and probably exceeded our expectations,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Josh Vadala. “Dr. Lord (Chris Lord, assistant superintendent of Peabody schools, oversees the program) (and) his team are working to make sure that we are leading the way across the state and to make sure that we are providing enough support for our kids.”
The application to extend the program did not include any amendments to the way it operates. The program, formally started in the 2021-22 school year, will continue to serve students in kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12).
There are now 126 students who are pre-registered for P.R.E.P. for the 2022-23 school year.
Jarrod Hochman was the only member of the School Committee who voted against supporting the application.
“It is just a fundamental disagreement I have with students staying at home, and not attending schools and being around their peers,” said Hochman before the roll call. “My ‘no’ vote on this is not a reflection on Dr. Lord or his staff.”
The district is looking at the possibility of bringing students outside of the Peabody school district into the virtual program at some point.
“That would require legislation,” Vadala said.
The district is working with two interested groups, one in Essex County and one operating statewide, that are interested in expansion of P.R.E.P. Another way would be to enter into Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs) agreements with individual districts that want to participate and charge them tuition, said Vadala.
Peabody P.R.E.P. is one of the seven virtual schools in the commonwealth of Massachusetts. It currently has 120 students enrolled in grades K-12.
“They love it,” said Lord about why students choose to study virtually. “They can focus better. Half of my kids are getting straight A’s.”
The program conducted a survey among 154 families that expressed interest in virtual learning, Lord said, and 62 percent of respondents said that their child learns better as a remote learner. Remote learning is best for the family schedule for 43 percent of respondents while 20 percent found personalization of education with a homeroom teacher-advisor the most valuable.
“The kids get a lot of individualized attention,” said Lord.
The school starts at 8:30 a.m. for P.R.E.P. students and they take three classes each day instead of seven. Core academic courses are taught in the morning, while after lunch the students can focus on their electives and exploratories, which they choose from 700 available courses.
The program accepts enrollment at any time, Lord said, and he personally meets with each family to make sure they understand the program and how it works.
