Bedard Turning Dreams Into Reality With PLA

Peabody educator Seith Bedard honored with the Simon Youth Foundation's Administrator of the Year Award for his leadership of an alternative high school program at the Northshore Mall.

Three years later, those responsible for bringing a unique alternative high school program to Peabody credit one man with the passion, talent and determination for turning that dream into a reality. Peabody Learning Academy Director Seith Bedard recently received the Simon Youth Foundation's Administrator of the Year Award and was feted again at last week's School Committee meeting by Simon representatives and school officials. "He wants everyone to realize their potential and works tirelessly to do so," says SYF. The most effusive praise of Bedard, who taught at Peabody High for several years before being tapped to direct the PLA program at the Northshore Mall, came from mall general manager Mark Whiting. Whiting has worked regularly with…

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Peabody Learning Academy Graduates 22 [PHOTOS]

The alternative high school at the Northshore Mall graduated a class of 22 students on Friday inside the mall near Macy's.

Life is all about choices. And the 22 students that graduated from the Peabody Learning Academy on Friday were applauded for making a series of good ones, along with the courage, perseverance and hard work to turn their lives around and give them all second chances. The PLA is an alternative high school program housed up at the Northshore Mall and utilizes computer lab-based coursework to get 20-30 students each year back on track to graduate with their peers. In some cases, PLA students are returning to school after having already dropped out. The flexibility of the curriculum and really all aspects of the program allow students to learn at their own pace. "You all faced some sort of adversity in school and somehow found yourself here at …

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Grads Say Peabody Learning Academy Helped Turn Their Lives Around

The alternative school program for at-risk students adds eight new grads to the ranks this May at Peabody High, and is turning out graduates who have a unique work/school experience to offer potential employers.

There is not a day that goes by when Lyndsay Konovalchik does not thank her lucky stars she had a second chance to make something positive happen in her life. Konovalchik is a recent graduate of the Peabody Learning Academy located in the Northshore Mall and is now working at Lahey Clinic in the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (P.A.C.U.) as a nursing assistant and loving every minute of it. Konovalchik sits in her fresh, crisp green scrubs and pair of patent leather clogs, looking like any other young responsible adult, but her real journey is a story of twists and turns on the road to graduation. Konovalchik dropped out of Peabody Veterans Memorial High School (PVMHS) during her junior year after extended absences due to an abusive relationship…

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Peabody Academy Kids Give Back at Haven

A group of 30 students from the Peabody Learning Academy spent two days serving meals, handing out turkeys and helping organize food shelves at Haven from Hunger.