Peabody P.R.E.P. Shows Potential Of Post-Pandemic Virtual Learning

PEABODY, MA — A daunting necessity of the onset of the COVID-19 health crisis has turned into a welcome option for remote learning three years later for many of the students who have come to embrace the Peabody Personalized Remote Education Program — or Peabody P.R.E.P. — and pressed the School Committee for its continuation this week.

Some of the students and their families provided video and in-person testimonials on behalf of the school, which must be approved for the 2023-24 academic year at the School Committee's next meeting on June 27.

"I think the kids said it all," Peabody Executive Director of Remote Learning Christopher Lord told Patch in a follow-up to Tuesday's meeting. "A lot of kids discovered, and a lot of families discovered, that this is a better way for them."

Lord told the School Committee that the enrollment for the 2022-23 school year increased at Peabody P.R.E.P. to 128 students from 123 in 2021-22, and is expected to be 119 in 2023-24. There were eight graduates in 2022, 11 this year and a projected 30 graduates next year.

The school has also worked out a memorandum of agreement with neighboring districts to have their students take Peabody P.R.E.P. classes if those districts cannot offer virtual learning. He said there were six such students in the K-12 school this year.

"We're hoping to expand that in the coming year and hope to bring some other students who found this of value during the pandemic into our world as well," Lord said. "We're quickly becoming the gold standard of virtual education."

While there are virtual learning academies available to students across the country, the advantage of a district-run one such as Peabody P.R.E.P. is that it is Peabody teachers educating mostly Peabody students.

"We know our kids," Lord said. "We knew them before they went virtual. Now we know the families. ... Our teachers are doing a phenomenal job. The things they are doing for our students are just remarkable."

Lord said that while each student and family had their own reasons for seeking out virtual learning, there are some trends in the student populations. There are students who for health or other social-emotional reasons do not fare as well in an in-person school environment, and he said there are many lower-income families who benefit from the flexibility of virtual learning.

Peabody P.R.E.P. begins at 8:20 a.m. each day — affording high school students up to 90 minutes of extra sleep that they could not get if they were traveling to Peabody Veterans Memorial — with academic core classes ending at 12:30 p.m. Students can then take elective classes in the afternoon that they can finish at their own pace as well as take advantage of internship or employment opportunities.

"Many of our students, and this is why I think we have many of the lower-income, are doing a job (after school)," he said. "They are done with their academics at 12, so at 1 o'clock they are available to go out into the workforce and they can earn credit for their work-study program."

Lord also noted that students surveyed in an assessment on school climate, engagement, health and culture that Peabody P.R.E.P. scores were about 20 points higher than the state average and those across the district.

"The kids like being here," he said. "This is the perfect learning environment for them."

He said the interaction that the students get online together is supplemented with some in-person activities such as field trips to Brooksby Farm, the Stone Zoo and a recent senior class trip to Salem Willows.

Despite the success stories, however, virtual schools like Peabody P.R.E.P. do face an uncertain future as the pandemic wanes — and, perhaps more significantly, pandemic-era funding disappears — and districts determine the best use of limited resources.

Peabody Superintendent Josh Vadala told the School Committee on Tuesday night that next year's Peabody P.R.E.P costs will be covered by the district's Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding.

ESSER funding for all districts expires in 2024.

"We have really been impressed with what has happened at Peabody P.R.E.P. and the virtual school," Vadala said in requesting the School Committee extension for 2023-24 on Tuesday.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)