Salem Public Schools
SPS Community,
I begin this week’s message with a heavy heart following yesterday’s tragic violence at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon. Please join me in keeping the students, families, educators, and entire Bend community in your thoughts and prayers. Schools should be places of safety, connection, and possibility. Our hearts are with everyone grieving this unimaginable loss.
I also want to follow up on the shelter-in-place at Salem High School on Thursday morning after the school received an emailed threat that was subsequently determined to be non-credible. I recognize that any threat involving a school can be unsettling for students, staff, and families, especially amid news of violence elsewhere.
I am grateful for the swift, coordinated response of the Salem Police Department, our high school staff, and our central office team. Within minutes of receiving the threat, the school initiated a shelter-in-place. Students remained in their classrooms while police officers conducted a precautionary sweep of the building. Staff followed our established safety protocols, and once police provided the all-clear, regular activities resumed and families were notified through ParentSquare. We later learned that other schools in the area had received similar threats that morning.
At our regularly scheduled District Safety Team meeting this morning, administrators and support staff from across SPS reviewed Thursday’s response, including what worked well, the challenges we encountered, and opportunities to strengthen our procedures and communication. We also reviewed September’s safety drills, including the ALICE drills completed at every school by September 30. These reviews help us turn preparation and experience into concrete improvements.
We are also currently training students in grades 4–12 to use the Sandy Hook Promise anonymous reporting system. This training empowers students to:
- Recognize warning signs that someone may be at risk of harming themselves or others.
- Take warning signs and threats seriously.
- Seek help promptly by speaking with a trusted adult or submitting an anonymous report through the program’s telephone hotline, mobile app, or website, available around the clock.
Please remind your children that they do not have to assess a concerning situation or handle it on their own. Sharing a concern with a trusted adult is an important act of care for themselves and others. If your child is feeling unsettled by yesterday’s events or the news from Oregon, please reach out to your school so we can help connect them with the appropriate support.
Keeping our students and staff safe is our highest priority and an ongoing responsibility. Thank you for your trust, partnership, and care for our school community.
Sincerely,
Dr. Tommy Welch
Superintendent
Commonwealth Beacon | Massachusetts needs to rethink how it improves schools. Here is a blueprint for doing it.
Salem Public Schools shows what is possible. The district created a dean of innovation position and, with the WPS Institute, launched a pilot to rethink middle school around a simple question: What if students genuinely didn’t want to miss school?
The Salem News | City advances emissions-reduction project at Horace Mann School
The city is moving forward with an emissions-reduction project at Horace Mann Elementary School intended to reduce operational costs and transition toward cleaner energy.
The Salem News | Next Level college sports notebook: No shortage of locals helping out Curry football
Peabody natives Colin Ridley and Gabe Santos as well as Salem’s Shane Field and Eli Vasquez-Bastardo are three of the big reasons the Colonels (3-2) find themselves on a two-game win streak coming out of this week’s bye. Curry is also a perfect 2-0 in Conference of New England play with eyes set on conference kingpin Endicott (5-0 and ranked in the Top 10 nationally), whom they host in their final regular game on November 14.
Oct. 30 Football Clash vs. Winthrop H.S. Rescheduled to Thursday, Oct. 29 at 6:30 p.m.
The Salem High School-Winthrop High School football game, originally scheduled for Friday, Oct. 30, has been rescheduled to Thursday, Oct. 29 (6:30 p.m.) at Bertram Field. The game will serve as senior night for football, cheer and the marching band seniors.
Wednesday, October 28 | 6:30–7:30 p.m. Online and presented entirely in Spanish
Despite the many obstacles they face in pursuing a university education, undocumented students can access higher education. This webinar will explain the latest immigration regulations, as well as the immigration statuses that are eligible—and those that are ineligible—for Federal Student Aid. It will also examine the application process for DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and its associated benefits.
The session will cover admission policies for public and private universities and explain how DACA recipients and undocumented students can maximize credits and time by taking advantage of dual and concurrent enrollment opportunities across various states, high schools, and community colleges. Scholarship resources and direct links to state and national organizations at the forefront of this widely debated issue will also be shared.
ParentSquare is the communication platform for Salem Public Schools. Families receive communication from the district, school, and their student's classroom all in one space. Families can communicate 1-to-1 with teachers, register for parent-teacher conferences, and more.
If you are not receiving messages from ParentSquare or if you are having trouble, contact your school's front office. You can visit www.parentsquare.com for more information.