May 5, 2023

SPS families,

What a week it has been across SPS! I had the chance to visit classrooms at two different schools (Horace Mann and Witchcraft) where I observed students engaged in meaningful reading and writing tasks, attended the all-city music concert and celebrated our CTE students at senior awards. In all three instances, these examples of student success are the product of exceptional educators who have guided and supported our young people.

As we kick off Educator Appreciation Week, this is a strong reminder of the immeasurable impact that our staff has on the students they serve. Next week, we will celebrate all of our educators with school-based and districtwide celebrations. During this special week, we also encourage you to join us in the festivities by thanking the hard-working staff members in our schools. Simply write a note, draw a picture, or give a social media shout-out. You can send these directly to the recipient or to publicrelations@salemk12.org. By showing your gratitude and appreciation for their efforts, you can help highlight how invaluable our staff are in the lives of our children. Thank you!

Last evening, we presented our recommended FY24 budget to the School Committee for review. Information about the budget, including last night’s presentation can be found on a separate page on our website here. Our public hearing is scheduled for Monday evening at 7 pm for anyone to share questions, ideas or concerns about the proposed budget. The final vote on the budget is scheduled for Monday, May 15th at our regularly scheduled meeting time (7 pm).

Enjoy your weekend!
Steve

At Salem Public Schools, we are recognizing one staff member a week who exemplifies our core values of celebrating differences, facilitating collaboration, fostering innovation, creating equity and access, growing all students, and upholding high standards for all. We are surprising a deserving SPS team member with a rock star trophy.

The rockstar award this week goes to Ann Marie O’Connor, the physical education teacher at Horace Mann. Ms. O’Connor is an incredibly dedicated educator who has deep expertise in her craft that she is eager to share with her colleagues, both inside and outside of HLMS. Students love her class, her positive attitude and her commitment to engaging everyone in classroom activities. Ms. O’Connor is also a fierce advocate for adaptive physical education so that every child who can benefit from these services receives them across SPS. Thank you for being such a champion for our children!

This week we welcomed Veronica Miranda to our School Committee. Veronica was voted in to serve in the seat that was recently vacated by Jim Fleming who served with us for over 20 years. She will serve in this seat through the current term. A joint session was held on Monday, May 1st between the School Committee and the City Council to vote a new member in. Each candidate had a chance to speak before the vote was made.

Congratulations Veronica, we look forward to your leadership in this role.

We would like to sincerely thank the other 6 amazing candidates who applied to fill Jim Fleming’s seat. Each candidate demonstrated a strong commitment to public service and a passion for public schools.

On Thursday, May 4th, Salem Public Schools presented our FY24 budget and recommended funding plan for the upcoming school year with the Committee for their consideration. You can view that presentation here.

On Monday, May 8th, at 7pm, we will have a public budget hearing in the chambers at Collins Middle School where anyone from the community can provide their perspective, suggestions, and ideas about our budget.

This meeting is open to all.

You can view the full proposed budget here. 

Transportation applications for the 2023-2024 school year opened on Monday, May 1, 2023, in the Aspen family portal. The Transportation Department sent information to families with instructions on how to apply, so please check your email, text messages, and ParentSquare notifications.

All students who wish to ride the bus for the 2023-2024 school year must submit an application, even if the student currently rides the bus or is considered a mandatory rider. A completed application must be submitted by Saturday, July 1, 2023. Applications received after July 1, 2023, will not be accepted except in extenuating circumstances to allow proper time for processing and routing.

If you have any questions, please call the Salem Public Schools Transportation Office at 

(978) 740-1240.

We have received inquiries and questions about summer school programming in the Salem Public Schools and in collaboration with our community partners. We are pleased to share that we will have approximately the same number of summer programming seats that we did last summer when we offered a record number of seats for SPS students. Our school-based teams are currently working to register students that would benefit most from the summer offerings. Historically, this happens before we open up the programming more widely. That being said, if you are interested in learning more about our Salem Public Schools or community offerings, please reach out to the City Connects coordinators at each K-8 school and the guidance departments at our three high school campuses. We want as many of our students to be connected to citywide programs as possible!

Join the community for a celebration of Salem students at the Peabody Essex Museum from May 19-22!

“SEE ME” is an initiative through the Salem Public Schools Office of Public Relations that captures the district’s core values of belonging, equity, and opportunity through the expression of student voices. This public exhibition at a world-renowned museum aims to share elements of how the young people of Salem see their history and how their cultures have shaped them. It explores how they see themselves walking through the world in the present and how they can influence the future.

“SEE ME” is a multiday pop-up exhibition featuring artwork from Salem students in grades K-12. This celebration of student works includes drawings, paintings, photography, poetry, video and more. Works will be displayed throughout the museum.

Join us for these special events on Saturday, May 20th:

10:30 am -12:00 pm – Morse Auditorium

Salem Student Voice Project Summit: “Raising the Volume of Student Voice” 

Salem Public Schools has taken on the challenge of social inequity by forming a partnership with the nonprofit Equity Imperative. This partnership led to the creation of the Student Voice Project, an effort to amplify students’ concerns and help them take action to address them.

1:30-2:45pm – Morse Auditorium

“Leveraging the Power of Student Identity and Voice to Transform School Culture” Fireside Chat with Superintendent, Dr. Stephen Zrike Jr, SPS Artist-in-Residence & Hip-Hop Performer, Dee-1, Equity Imperative Co-Founder and Director of the Student Voice Project, Judith Diaz-Rodriguez. Opening remarks from Lt. Governor, Kim Driscoll.

Salem residents and SPS staff get in FREE! Come celebrate the incredible talent of Salem Public Schools students with us in May.

Hello from Food and Nutrition Services! Check out the menus for May 8th – May 15th: https://salemfoodservice.wixsite.com/spsk12menus. 

Happy Cinco De Mayo! Today we recognize this day at Salem High School with a new menu item, A Birria Quesadilla with Homemade Sofrito Black Bean and Corn Salsa, and Sweet Plantains! 

Salem High School is the first school in our district to be served the Birria Quesadilla as a meal. On Friday, April 28th a taste test was held to try samples of the Birria Quesadilla at Collins Middle School. We received amazing feedback from our middle school students and they made it clear they would like this meal to make its way to their menu as well. We will get this meal on the Collins menu as soon as possible! 

Another taste test was held at Salem High School this past week on Tuesday, May 2nd, to try Asian Rainbow Slaw and Crispy Tofu! 

This meal will be served at Salem High School on Tuesday, May 9th. We will also be bringing more asian fusion options to our menus as well. We are working to bring variety of diverse meals to our cafeterias throughout the district. Be on the lookout for more new menu items coming soon! 

We are excited to announce that Angela’s Preschool and Daycare is now open at Salem High School! Our preschool and daycare facility is dedicated to providing a safe, nurturing, and stimulating environment for your child’s growth and development. Enroll your child now by contacting 978-335-1413

We understand the importance of quality care and education for your child, which is why our experienced staff is committed to providing personalized attention to each child in our care. Our curriculum focuses on social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development to ensure your child a well-rounded and ready for their next educational journey.

Welcome to the Virtual Backpack. This is a space where we will place items that in the past may have been a flyer in your student’s backpack from friends and partners to SPS.

Register NOW for the 31st Annual Walk for HAWC! Sunday June 4th, 2023

Free Smoke Alarms & Installation / Alarmas de humo gratuitas

A reminder that ParentSquare is the district platform for communication. You will receive communication from the district, your school, and your student’s classroom all in one space. You can communicate 1-to-1 with teachers, sign up for parent-teacher conferences, and more.

This is how our school and teachers communicate with families districtwide. Please be sure you are receiving messages from ParentSquare. If need support downloading the app or receiving messages, please contact your school’s front office. You can visit www.parentsquare.com for more information.