Now in his fourth year as Superintendent of Salem Public Schools (SPS), Steve began by thanking Salem Rotarians for hosting SPS staff each week and for the Club’s support of student scholarships, the CTE program, and other SPS programs.
Growing up in a Cuban household, Steve is first generation to the United States and continually inspired by his grandfather’s belief that education is the key to success. He has a letter from his grandfather fully visible in his office that notes, “Fidel Castro can take everything but your education.” He incorporates this philosophy into his work, which led him to a career in public education. Steve feels public education is so important, because everyone is accepted, and no one is turned away. In Salem, in particular, they accept new students every day.
Steve went on to give the Club an overview of SPS’ new, three-year strategic plan. The mission of SPS is to be a welcoming community that promotes the academic, social emotional, and physical development of each student, empowering all to chart a personalized path to success that includes a commitment to the common good. The new strategic plan also includes value statements around equity, belonging and opportunity that are vital to the district’s efforts to interrupt systems that don’t work for all students and families and to break down longstanding barriers to students’ success.
SPS has a shared belief that every student should be able to find their passion and enjoy learning within the district. SPS enrollment is now 47% Latino, 38% White, 8% Black, 4% Multi-Racial, and 3% Asian Pacific Islander. Of the 3,865 students in the PreK – 12 system, 19.2% are multilingual learners and 24.7% are students with disabilities.
The four priorities of the new strategic plan focus on: elevating learning; empowering educators; centering belonging; and strengthening the foundation.
SPS will elevate learning by expanding universal preschool, something the Commonwealth is now replicating statewide; growing early college and dual enrollment programs with higher education institutions like Salem State University and North Shore Community College; expanding career and technical education programs and aligning them to workforce demands; and graduating students with a diploma plus model that prepares graduates with the skills and confidence to succeed in college, career or both. There will be a particular focus on middle school students in this plan as well, because the public education system in this country is not designed to engage this age group well and has not changed in many decades.
Empowering educators is a priority to both retain and diversify teachers and staff within SPS. The district wants teachers and staff to work, grow and stay in Salem. This will be done through examining incentives, giving voice to faculty and staff, and having more diverse representation in the classroom so Salem students can see themselves in leadership roles.
The third priority, to center belonging, is focused on creating an environment where all families and students feel like they belong and have a voice in their own educations. In addition to building community, this priority will focus on addressing chronic absenteeism (when a student misses 10% of school days or more in a year) and enhancing access to mental health resources for students.
The final priority, strengthening the foundation, focuses on the system’s infrastructure. This priority includes projects like the new Salem High School and rethinking how all school buildings will be used going forward as well as other resources (people, time, and money).
Steve closed by asking Rotarians to do a little “homework.” He asked for all to think about how we can get involved through our own work to collaborate with and support SPS students at all levels. If you have ideas,
please reach out to Steve.
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