Washington County online school's first year 'successful'

For Steven Lease and his family, the Academy of Blended Learning Education program in Funkstown has been a blessing.

Run by Washington County Public Schools, the online school known as ABLE, recently completed its first year in operation. Lease, and many parents and students, found it to be a much-needed option in the county.

Lease's two children attended ABLE.

"I could not be happier," said Lease of Hagerstown. "They've absolutely thrived. It's been absolutely amazing."

Both his children, Angel Lease, 16, and Tristan Lease, 14, were bullied in their previous schools, he said.

Angel was a 10th-grader at South Hagerstown High School, and Tristan was an eighth-grader at E. Russell Hicks Middle School in Hagerstown.

When COVID-19 broke out in 2020 and Washington County Public Schools went from in-person learning to totally online, the shift was what the Lease children needed.

"A lot of people saw COVID as a curse," Lease said. "We saw it as a blessing. They thrived beautifully."

Lease said he and his wife, Jessica Lease, decided they needed to remove their children from South High and E. Russell Hicks, and the ABLE school was the answer.

ABLE is based at the former Funkstown Elementary School and includes 430 students, kindergarten through 12th grade, who did well with online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to school system officials.

It's for students who were not ready to go back to in-person learning in a classroom. It's for more independent students who are comfortable learning in a home setting. Or they might have health issues and they feel more comfortable staying home.

'ABLE is like a living entity'

Principal Robert Stike said ABLE's first year has been successful, overall.

"It was a great year," he stated in an email earlier this month. "As with the start of any new program, there were some learning opportunities to help us grow. The ABLE staff is creative and patient and has worked tirelessly to assure that this program is a success."

Stike said he does not yet have some data indicating how students performed.

"We do not have testing data yet, but we have been focused on academic growth and are pleased with the progress our students have made," he said. "Again, we continue to learn and grow and improve our processes. ABLE is like a living entity. As the program continues, we evolve to better suit the needs of our students."

It's a popular enough idea that a waiting list developed previously.

Stike told The Herald-Mail in December that 430 is the perfect number of students. Stike said he wants to remain under 500.

"We anticipate the student enrollment will remain consistent," he said in a recent email. "Current students were given the opportunity to reserve their spots, and ABLE is now open to all Washington County residents who would like to apply for consideration to join our virtual program."

For more information or to enroll your child, go to www.wcpsmd.com/able.

In addition to 21 teachers and Stike, the school includes an art teacher, music teacher, special education case worker, one secretary and one counselor.

As for sports, proms and other school activities, ABLE students can participate at their home schools, since those activities are not provided at the academy.

There are no additional costs for students to attend the ABLE program. The cost to run the program is covered by Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) federal funds.

The academy follows the same expectations and same curriculum as what is being taught in Washington County Public Schools classrooms.

More ABLE: Online school gives students and teachers an alternative to in-person learning

What are some successes at ABLE?

"We have had a lot of successes this year, from early graduates to finalists featured in the Washington County Art Show, but to me the biggest success is seeing these students excel and thrive in an online environment," Stike said.

"As we have discovered, it takes a special type of student to learn in this manner, and seeing their daily achievements has been a point of immense pride for the staff at ABLE," he said. "Many students have developed lasting friendships and helped make ABLE a true community of learners."

For brothers Nolan and Ryan Murphy of Smithsburg, the ABLE school has been a positive experience.

Nolan is 18 and finished his required classes to graduate in January. He walked with his senior class in the Smithsburg High School graduation on May 31.

"One of the nice things about the ABLE program was that the environment was more personalized than in-person classes," Nolan stated in an email. "As a senior, I was working and taking college classes, along with my WCPS classes, so having a flexible schedule was especially helpful."

Nolan said the online program is not easier than in-person classes.

"The workload is about the same, maybe even a little more at times, but that’s OK, because I was there to learn," he said.

"The environment was different than in-person classes. You didn’t have to deal with interruptions in the classroom like you do with in-person classes, and that was great. All the teachers I had were extremely helpful and they wanted us to do well. Anytime I had a question or needed clarification on something, they were always available."

Nolan said he decided on the ABLE program, because he needed a few classes to finish high school and begin college early.

Nolan attends Hagerstown Community College.

"I also liked the fact that it allowed me to be more independent with my learning," he said.

Ryan, technically a junior, graduated with the senior class. He had enough credits and courses under his belt to graduate from Smithsburg this year with his brother.

"This would actually be my junior year, but I was able to finish my high school requirements early," Ryan, 17, stated in an email. "My high school classes for ABLE were in semesters, so it’s very similar to college classes.

"The fall semester this year was basically my junior-year classes that I needed, and the spring semester this year was full of my senior classes," he said.

Ryan said he loved being a student with the ABLE school.

"The teachers were great," he said. "They were always willing to stay after class to help with any questions or concerns we may have had, as well as providing daily designated online times to meet with them privately if needed."

Ryan said the program is not easier than in-person learning.

"You have requirements just like in-person that you need to follow and meet, it’s just a different environment," he said. "I definitely think it’s a much calmer and controlled environment than in-person classes. That’s another reason why I liked the program. Everyone learns differently and this type of learning was an excellent fit for me."

Ryan said he liked distance learning when the school system went virtual learning at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I wanted to continue pursuing my education this way," he said. "I also had some set goals I wanted to accomplish and some of that included starting college early, which the ABLE program allowed me to do."

Ryan also attends Hagerstown Community College.

A parent's perspective

"I actually noticed that they enjoyed their learning more this way because they had more flexibility with their schedules, their time management skills had improved, and the learning environment was less distracting for them," Kristin Murphy, the boys' mom, stated in an email. "I initially liked the idea since it was goal orientated and they wanted to be college ready, but I left the decision up to them since they were the ones doing the work."

But Murphy said she wants to be clear that ABLE is nothing like the Zoom classes students were taking during the height of COVID-19 restrictions.

Some students had difficulty with virtual classes, and did better with in-person learning.

"People sometimes get a misconception when you say 'virtual learning,' because of the experience they had with it during Covid, and it left a bad taste in their mouth," she wrote. "This is not the same type of learning.

"That was a crazy time and everyone was just learning how to navigate a new way of teaching, and things were unpredictable then," she said.

Murphy said ABLE is a structured and organized virtual classroom environment.

"Students are expected to be ready to learn just like when they are in the building, and they are held to the same standards as all WCPS schools are," she said. "Other states offer virtual learning as an option for their students and I am glad that WCPS has expanded their educational opportunities to include the virtual ABLE program.

"Many students have and will continue to benefit from this type of learning," she said. "As far as my own personal experience with ABLE, I don't have any complaints.

"I think they are doing an excellent job at providing a well-rounded education for their students," she said. "The teachers and staff at ABLE keep parents informed and have always been happy to help me with any questions or concerns I had."

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This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Washington County has success with first year of online ABLE school