SALEM — The three finalists to become Salem’s next superintendent of schools participated in public forums this week to answer questions about their visions for the district and experiences that have prepared them for the role.
The three finalists included Jorge Allen, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Wellesley Public Schools, Andrew Bott, Head of School for Brighton High School, and Thomas Welch, Regional School Superintendent and Associate Superintendent for Boston Public Schools.
Introductory remarks
In Allen’s self-introduction during his community forum on Monday, he said that he would bring a unique perspective to the role as a descendent of West Indian workers who built the Panama Canal, with an understanding of what it means to sit in a public school classroom and wonder if educators truly saw him as a student and person.
“I am very proud to have worked at the intersection of language, identity, and belonging, because I believe that these three things are key to whether a child thrives or remains invisible,” Allen said. “Your strategic plan built on elevating learning, empowering educators, centering belonging and strengthening foundational systems reflects the comprehensive, equity-driven approach to district leadership that has defined my career. What makes me the right leader for Salem at this moment is not a title or plan, it is a track record of fostering relational leadership that sustains transformative work over time.”
During Bott’s introduction, he said that the excitement he has for the opportunity to continue building upon the district’s strategic planning makes him the right person for the job at a foundational time in the district.
“There’s an incredible opportunity to now understand what was successful from the existing strategic plan and develop that for the next 10 years,” Bott said. “You can boil down my leadership to two concepts — one is what we are doing as a school system to ensure that every student has the opportunity to grow and thrive everyday. The other is how we are using the data available to know what is working that we should continue, and the things we need to tweak to achieve our vision and ensure that there’s time for adult collaboration, student learning, and students engaged in high quality educational opportunities.”
In Welch’s introduction during his community forum, he spoke to his shared belief with the school district that belonging is a blueprint for a school system that leads to opportunity.
“The team here has done a great job of making everyone feel welcome and that they belong to a system of schools that are moving forward,” Welch said. “In my role as a systems level leader, belonging is the first thing I look at. When schools have a clear welcoming environment where students see themselves in the curriculum and they feel safe in the hallways, attendance is stronger and belonging is there. With those two key components, what comes next is academic growth and achievement.”
Educating for success
Each candidate was asked the same 10 questions that had been submitted by members of the community. The first asked candidates how they would strengthen student achievement across the district and ensure that all students have access to rigorous, engaging, and relevant learning experiences that prepare them for success in college and careers and life after school.
Allen said that he believes in the importance of continuing to foster the district’s work towards providing hands-on programming, and ensuring that it is accessible to all students.
“During the student forum, students mentioned the city’s programming giving them hands-on learning opportunities — they see the practicality of their learning, and it gives them a different experience and educational journey,” Allen said. “I see those experiences as very valuable. I would like to continue supporting that approach and make sure there are no barriers that keep students from experiencing that breadth of the curriculum, especially students with individualized educational plans.”
Bott said that academic excellence can be achieved best by having a solid sense of where each student is in their educational journey in order to ensure that they have the skills necessary to succeed post-graduation.
“Really understanding individual students is the job of the superintendent, the district, and the central office team, in order to support principals and teachers in having a deep knowledge of where every student needs support,” Bott said. “We need to ask what (skills) we expect all of our graduates to have when they walk across the stage, and what they need to accomplish along each step of the way.”
Welch said that using data on a regular basis to identify students who need assistance and responding to provided enrichment and interventions, as well as ensuring students are successfully implementing what they learn in the classroom into their work, is key to academic success.
“One thing that’s really important is shifting the heavy lift to students in the classroom so they are doing the work,” Welch said. “How students are listening to the content and having an elevated sense of complexity in how they understand that information leads to a focus on the output we’re asking them to do — how they’re speaking and writing about what they’re learning. This is how we learn as adults in society — we’re not being spoonfed information.”
Working through conflict
Another question from the community asked how candidates would approach building trust and engagement with the students, families, educators, community organizations, city leaders, and partners that care about the school district and maintain two-way conversations when there may be differences in opinion.
Allen said that he would approach every community issue with the intention of listening first and taking that information received from different perspectives to make informed decisions.
“One of my guiding principles is to lead by listening first, and learning from that listening,” Allen said. “I come to this role as a public servant. And in the public service attitude, I will take the time to sit with a dilemma and explore options.”
Bott said that his approach to dealing with contentious community issues starts with having transparency and trust around relevant information.
““You can’t have hard conversations unless there’s transparency and trust around information,” Bott said. “The way to build trust is to be everywhere. You can’t build the trust to have difficult conversations unless people see and know you, and know that you have a good sense of the schools.”
Welch said that the first step to engaging with the community on district issues is by taking time to build relationships with community members and establish himself as a confidant, to hear about concerns before they develop into larger issues.
“Taking the time to build relationships and understand what the issues are gave me a headstart when I began at Boston Public Schools,” Welch said. “In Salem, you’ll see me at community events. A lot of those difficult conversations start informally, because people know they have access to me.”
The School Committee is expected to appoint the selected Superintendent by the end of June. This will be followed by contract negotiation and on-boarding to take place in July in time for the start of the 2026-2027 school year in August.
Each of the community forums can be viewed on Salem Access Television’s YouTube page. Community members can share feedback on each candidate through a Google Form available at forms.gle/roJEAvdLgKyTfZcVA
Michael McHugh can be contacted at mmchugh@northofboston.com or at 781-799-5202