SALEM — The Salem School Committee selected Thomas Welch to become the district’s next superintendent.
The Salem School Committee voted 6-1 on Wednesday night to offer Welch the position, with members highlighting his diversity of experience and commitment to maintaining collaborative relationships with families and educators as some of the strongest reasons for their decision.
“I am deeply humbled and honored to have earned the confidence of the Salem School Committee to serve as the next Superintendent,” Welch said. “After more than 27 years as a teacher, principal, and regional superintendent, I am excited to help Salem build upon its strong foundation and move toward an even brighter future.”
Welch will take over as superintendent from Kate Carbone, who served as the interim superintendent following the departure of Steve Zrike in March. Zrike departed from the district when he was appointed by the governor as the state Secretary of Education.
Welch has served as a Regional School Superintendent/Associate Superintendent for Boston Public Schools since 2015, and served as the Academic Superintendent for the district’s Alternative Schools Network from 2018-2019. Prior to that, he was the founding Principal of Nava College Preparatory High School in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Welch holds an Ed.D. from Boston College’s Professional School Administrator Program, an M.A. in Education from UCLA, and a B.A. in Economics and Environmental Studies from Occidental College.
School Committee members commented that each of the three finalists – Welch, Jorge Allen, Andrew Bott – each had their own strengths that would have made them exceptional leaders for the district. Despite three of the council members initially voicing support for Bott as their first choice, other members highlighted Welch’s passion for community engagement, vision for innovation, and commitment to ensuring that every student is seen and supported.
“I believe his combination of instructional leadership, leading an urban school district as a regional superintendent, experience supporting multilingual learners, commitment to dual language programming, systems planning, and vision for innovation is what best aligns with where we’re headed in Salem,” said School Committee member Veronica Miranda. “What resonated with me was his emphasis on students being known, comments around equity, beginning with instructional quality, and that our schools need to be places where every child feels safe and seen, and that our community should be active partners in this work.”
School Committee Chair Dominick Pangallo said that Welch has the ability to forge important connections throughout the community and build engagement with those who may not feel seen or heard.
“I appreciated his passion and enthusiasm,” Pangallo said. “His experience as an urban district leader, not just in Massachusetts but also in California, brings a diversity of experience that is valuable.”
Not all members of the School Committee believed that Welch was a strong choice for the district, as member Mary Manning, who was the sole vote in opposition to Welch’s selection, said that she could not warm up to the choice.
“I didn’t particularly like (his) answers,” Manning said. “There was just something about him that I really couldn’t warm up to.”
Welch will start as the school’s new superintendent in August ahead of the 2026-2027 school year.
Michael McHugh can be contacted at mmchugh@northofboston.com or at 781-799-5202