PEABODY — A proposal to open an alternative high school program at the Northshore Mall received the initial go-ahead from the School Committee this week.
The Simon Youth Foundation, the charitable arm of mall parent company Simon Property Group Inc., is backing a plan that would create what's called an Education Resource Center run by Peabody schools and funded by the foundation, grants and city dollars.
Simon Vice President Ron Hanson made the proposal Tuesday night, saying the foundation sponsors 25 such centers across the country and wants to open two in the region.
"We certainly hope that the facility opens here, specifically at the Northshore Mall," Hanson said.
The malls provide the space rent-free. The centers target at-risk youth who might otherwise not earn their high school diplomas, he said.
"There are no strings to this," he said. "We are not trying to create something for our benefit."
The foundation also works to find business partners to help underwrite the cost and seeks grants to offset expenses to the host community. Regionally, Simon is in talks with insurance companies that would help back the program, Hanson said.
"We have lined up a significant amount of resources already," he said. "If we can raise enough of the money we need for the build-out, it will cost the district nothing."
The foundation is pushing to open the facility by next fall, a time frame Hanson called aggressive but realistic.
The pitch received a largely positive reception from committee members who voted to send the foundation a nonbinding letter of intent.
Michael Moutsoulas, who asked about the safety and student transportation, cast the lone no vote. He said he didn't have enough information to go forward.
"I have to vote with common sense," Moutsoulas said.
His colleagues, however, viewed the plan as an opportunity for Peabody.
"I think we should definitely pursue this," committee member David McGeney said.
Beverley Dunne praised the mall and its employees as having an excellent track record in the community.
"When you say something, you follow through. Everything you have said is true," she said. "I just think it's absolutely the right thing to look into."
In Edward Nizwantowski's experience, the mall is a popular spot for students.
"When I skipped school, I went to the mall," he offered.
An alternative to the alternative
Budget cuts in recent years have all but dismantled Peabody's alternative education program.
For years, the program bounced from one venue to the next, including McCarthy Elementary School, a site at the former St. Joseph's Church and the bus overpass at Peabody High, according to Principal Edward Sapienza.
In 2006, the district opted to scale back the program, cutting three teachers, supplies and texts to save $180,000. This school year, the district cut the one remaining teacher assigned to the program.
"It's been kind of an orphan child," the principal said.
Sapienza welcomed Simon's concept for Peabody and said the foundation's version matches up with his own idea of an alternative program.
"Well, I think it's a very good idea," he said. "It kind of fulfills one of my goals to build partners in the community."
Sapienza said he and Superintendent C. Milton Burnett in recent weeks had been discussing a plan for an alternative program.
"It's in draft form," the principal said. "It has in it all the necessities to do exactly what the Simon Foundation is trying to accomplish."
Sapienza is hoping he gets the support of Mayor Michael Bonfanti to get moving on the program but realizes the concept is preliminary.
"I'm ready to meet any day, any time," he said. "It's long overdue. The concept intrigues me."
Burnett said Tuesday night that the plan would be the impetus to get the alternative program off the ground. He also liked the fact that participants would remain Peabody High students and the program would be Peabody-run.
"It's an opportunity I don't think we can afford to pass," the superintendent said.
Sapienza preferred the idea of a district-run alternative program to a charter school like the one being proposed in Salem.
He said Simon's Education Resource Center has been tried and tested for the past decade, unlike the Road to Success Charter High School that would draw at-risk students from Peabody, Lynn and Salem.
"(The Simon Foundation) wants to come in as a partner and work with us," he said. "That's probably the best approach."
