[0:00] Let's

[0:12] do all together. All right. Um, good

[0:15] evening everyone. I'll call to order a

[0:17] special meeting of the Salem School

[0:19] Committee of July 7th, 2026 at 6 p.m.

[0:22] This meeting is taking place in person

[0:23] at 29 Highland Avenue, room 227 in

[0:25] Salem. In person is the primary method

[0:28] of public access to this meeting. Um if

[0:31] technologically feasible, you can access

[0:33] via Salem Access TV or remotely using

[0:35] the Zoom link posted in the meeting

[0:37] agenda. The only item on our agenda for

[0:39] this evening is interview with our

[0:40] superintendent finalist, Jorge Allen. Um

[0:44] we will begin with uh allowing uh you to

[0:48] uh offer a two to three minute opening

[0:49] statement if you like. There'll be a

[0:51] series of questions from the committee

[0:52] members. Uh committee members that wish

[0:55] to ask a follow-up question to any of

[0:57] the questions that were asked, please

[0:59] raise your hand. Uh and I'll call on

[1:00] folks. Um and then we'll move on to the

[1:02] next questions and then at the

[1:04] conclusion of the questions, uh you'll

[1:06] have an opportunity for another two to

[1:08] three minute closing statement if you'd

[1:09] like.

[1:10] » All right.

[1:10] » Thank you.

[1:11] » Okay.

[1:14] Well, uh with that, the floor is yours.

[1:17] » Thank you. Uh good evening. Uh thank you

[1:20] uh for the opportunity to be here. Um I

[1:23] would like to start by saying what

[1:25] really excites me about Salem. Um what

[1:28] really excites me about Salem is

[1:30] basically who the community is. The um

[1:34] having almost um for more than 40% of

[1:38] families and students to be uh Hispanic.

[1:41] Um having one in every six um students

[1:45] roughly to be English learners. Uh those

[1:47] are the things that really excite me but

[1:50] especially the fact that this is a

[1:52] community that is very intentional and

[1:54] deliberate in communicating their sense

[1:56] of belonging to um all these members. Um

[2:02] and the most important thing is that the

[2:03] multiculturalism and the multilingualism

[2:06] of this community is not being seen as a

[2:10] challenge to be managed but instead as

[2:12] an asset that enriches the community and

[2:15] should also enrich educational

[2:17] experience of the students. Um,

[2:20] personally as a immigrant myself, as a

[2:23] first generation college educated in my

[2:26] family, as a descendant or uh descendant

[2:29] Westinians that actually built the

[2:31] Panama Canal, um, I feel connected with

[2:34] this community and I feel that the I

[2:38] don't see way I don't see Salem as a

[2:42] basically a district, but I see the

[2:44] families that represent also my family

[2:47] as well. uh also because of the fact of

[2:50] me having to raise uh three

[2:51] African-American uh boys in in this uh

[2:54] community and having to navigate this

[2:57] the school system as a parent in a

[2:59] language and a culture that was not

[3:01] actually my first that has given me a

[3:04] perspective that is not just imagine or

[3:07] learned from a book but actually lived

[3:09] um in every day of my experience as a as

[3:13] a parent. Two things that I would like

[3:16] to highlight tonight and hopefully

[3:18] you'll be able to see that through line

[3:21] is one I truly feel and believe that

[3:25] Salem is not at the beginning of

[3:27] something. It's actually in the midst of

[3:30] uh extraordinary things that are

[3:32] happening. When I came to the site visit

[3:36] uh a couple a few weeks ago, I I was

[3:38] able to see um from the early early

[3:43] childhood center how the adults were

[3:46] excited about kids getting dirty in the

[3:49] community garden. I was able to see uh

[3:53] the dual language school be very proud

[3:56] about the um the teachers that they have

[3:58] brought from Brazil, from the Dominican

[4:00] Republic and Spain. Uh then I was able

[4:03] to experience and and have a

[4:06] conversation with the a middle school

[4:07] principal that's actually very excited

[4:09] about the possibility that next year

[4:11] they will be um the start of a dual

[4:14] language program at the at their school.

[4:17] And then also in um in my meeting with

[4:20] high school students when I asked them

[4:23] what what is one aspect of the Salem

[4:25] High School uh experience that they feel

[4:28] really proud that they will be able to

[4:30] brag about and the answers I got were

[4:33] two that really were very telling. One

[4:37] one of the students mentioned that they

[4:38] were really proud of the special

[4:40] education program.

[4:43] This has been my first time in my

[4:44] educator life that actually students

[4:47] will actually highlight the education

[4:49] special education program as a highlight

[4:52] of their educational experience.

[4:54] The second thing that also uh was shared

[4:57] by the students when I met with them was

[5:00] that they were really proud and really

[5:02] excited about the design of the high

[5:05] school that allows them to to experience

[5:09] uh career and technology education

[5:11] opportunities and pathways in addition

[5:14] to the uh regular high school

[5:16] curriculum. So those are the things that

[5:19] I describe by extraordinary. Those are

[5:21] the things that really make Salem for me

[5:24] a exciting place to be able to join um

[5:27] as an educator. The second thing I would

[5:30] like to um highlight that my second

[5:32] through line is and it will hopefully

[5:35] will make more sense later is the

[5:38] concept of um locally rooted and

[5:42] globally ready. I I feel and I believe

[5:46] that all and every single Salem public

[5:49] school student deserves uh access to the

[5:52] core curriculum and also they deserve to

[5:55] really learn about their language, about

[5:57] the culture and about their local

[5:59] community and those things and those

[6:02] elements should make them ready for um

[6:06] basically be ready globally for career

[6:09] or any post-secary uh opportunities that

[6:12] they might want to pursue.

[6:14] So um those were my two uh through lines

[6:17] today and hopefully that will capture my

[6:19] vision and again I'm thank you for the

[6:21] opportunity um as I'm really honored to

[6:23] be here with with you today.

[6:28] » Thank you Mr. Allen. Um so our first

[6:30] question

[6:32] equity often requires difficult choices.

[6:34] How do you approach decisions about

[6:36] allocating resources, opportunities, and

[6:39] supports across students, schools, and

[6:41] programs when needs exceed available

[6:44] resources?

[6:46] » Yeah, I think for me the first operating

[6:49] definition is to keep in mind that

[6:51] equity doesn't mean equal distribution

[6:53] of assets. So equity is not asking for

[6:57] every single school, every single

[6:58] student to have the same thing. is

[7:01] actually is asking us to be mindful

[7:04] about how distribution of assets is u

[7:08] providing equal opportunity of uh access

[7:11] to opportunities.

[7:13] So um

[7:15] there's always this dilemma that is that

[7:18] we're bound to face that needs always

[7:22] going to surpass resources.

[7:25] The question that I will have as a

[7:28] superintendent that actually has

[7:30] dictated my um my career is to always

[7:34] ask the question like what are the

[7:38] students or families that will be

[7:40] impacted by any budget decision.

[7:44] especially keeping in mind that we want

[7:45] to u protect the families that are more

[7:48] vulnerable that the families that have

[7:51] been uh under reppresented or the the

[7:55] students have not been achieving

[7:57] educationally as their peers. So um with

[8:02] those decisions with those principles in

[8:04] mind it's important to communicate those

[8:07] values when um having budget

[8:10] considerations and conversations. I

[8:13] would like to offer an example. Um,

[8:17] as a department head in a in a world

[8:19] language program, I had to make the

[8:21] decision about uh increasing the class

[8:24] size of the honors classes to be able to

[8:28] to have enough staffing to support the

[8:31] um the college prep courses offered in

[8:33] my department. That was not a popular

[8:36] decision. That was not a decision that

[8:38] is in a way counterintuitive.

[8:41] But the principle, the driving principle

[8:43] for that is that those students that are

[8:46] labeled as college prep versus honors,

[8:49] those are the students that in a world

[8:50] language program are the ones that are

[8:52] more vulnerable. They are the ones that

[8:54] don't see themselves as language

[8:56] learners and those are the ones that

[8:58] will benefit from having a smaller class

[9:01] size in which that will um provide more

[9:04] access to the teachers.

[9:06] um those kind of decisions are the ones

[9:09] that I that I use when I look at

[9:12] budgetary uh considerations

[9:15] and um and what is more important is to

[9:19] keep in mind what will be the effect or

[9:21] the impact of those. So I was trying to

[9:24] protect the students that our program

[9:26] needed to um highly support and the

[9:30] students that were actually were

[9:31] underrepresented academically.

[9:34] Um but the most important thing is that

[9:36] that decision was owned by me. That

[9:38] decision was understood by the

[9:40] department and I did not pass that um

[9:43] the negativity that came with the

[9:45] decision and spread to the rest of the

[9:47] staff. So um in in the end the driving

[9:52] decision is about the impact. A budget

[9:55] document becomes a document of values

[9:58] and statements. And it's not just a list

[10:01] of cuts and expenses, but actually it

[10:04] should show what a district, what a

[10:07] program or a school values.

[10:13] » Thank you. Uh follow-up questions from

[10:15] committee members.

[10:23] Member Cornell.

[10:24] » Thank you. Um I'm wondering if you can

[10:28] uh develop a little bit how you would

[10:32] use what metrics you would use to sort

[10:35] of assess how we allocate

[10:39] our resources equitably. Um you know

[10:42] this is a concern for us going forward

[10:43] and equity is our guiding light in this

[10:47] district. So, how would you think about

[10:49] being data informed at the same time

[10:50] that we're, you know,

[10:53] um being human about the way that that

[10:56] we approach our high needs population?

[10:58] So, just like what sort of metrics and

[11:00] data would you be looking for to make

[11:02] sure that we're appropriating uh our

[11:05] finances um to the to the kids who need

[11:08] it the most?

[11:10] » Yeah, I think um a key element for that

[11:12] analysis has to be disagregating the

[11:14] data. We have to understand um what is

[11:17] the um the level of achievement not

[11:20] necessarily as a district as a whole but

[11:22] actually being able to be more nuanced

[11:25] and be able to understand um are we

[11:28] actually closing the gaps between the

[11:30] different student subgroups. And then we

[11:32] had to be a I will have to understand

[11:35] basically what is that connection

[11:37] between the uh prepundance of the those

[11:41] subgroups where are they mostly located

[11:43] or likely to be situated in the district

[11:46] operationally and also in um in the

[11:49] academic programming. So um I think the

[11:53] metrics for me that um that I basically

[11:57] drive when I understand district

[11:59] decisions, it has to come to the dis the

[12:01] segregated data and understanding what

[12:03] are the programs that actually

[12:04] supporting those particular groups that

[12:08] are trailing the mainstream or trailing

[12:11] the average of the district and what

[12:13] where are the programs that actually are

[12:15] helping to close that gap and to

[12:18] accelerate learning. And so in an

[12:21] environment which one is considering

[12:23] either right sizing or sunsetting

[12:26] programs that is kind of the metric that

[12:28] I will be looking for the educational

[12:30] outcomes for the particular groups that

[12:32] we're interested in protecting.

[12:35] » Thank you.

[12:42] » All right. No further follow-ups on that

[12:44] point. Member Cornell.

[12:47] » We have the next question.

[12:49] Uh the next question is uh Salem has

[12:52] worked hard to build a culture of high

[12:53] expectations for all students while also

[12:56] offering strong college and career

[12:58] pathways. How would you ensure students

[13:00] experience a coherent educational

[13:02] journey from elementary through high

[13:05] school and graduate prepared graduates

[13:08] prepared for co success in college

[13:10] career and life? I'm sorry and graduate

[13:12] prepared for co success in college

[13:14] career and life.

[13:15] » Yeah. Um thank you for the question. For

[13:18] me the uh key term with that question is

[13:21] coherence. And by coherence I mean that

[13:25] when I think about a kindergarten

[13:28] student who might be starting in the

[13:29] fall in the and Sarah Parker Raman

[13:33] school for example and when I think

[13:34] about high school sale high school

[13:37] student uh are they experiencing

[13:40] educationally an alignment of um or

[13:44] opportunities or are we just a district

[13:48] that is basically a conglomerate of

[13:50] disperate um experience. experiences

[13:53] under the same name of uh Salem public

[13:56] schools. So it is important that um I

[14:00] see the coherency reflected by what

[14:03] Selma has done with the uh portrait of

[14:06] the graduate and the question for me

[14:08] will be how is that portrait of the

[14:10] graduate reflected in all vert

[14:13] vertically in all the levels. Um, one

[14:17] should be able to see that unfolding and

[14:21] unpacking of those um, characteristic of

[14:24] the posture of the graduate like

[14:25] critical thinking, creative problem

[14:27] solving, collaboration, communication,

[14:31] self-awareness and cultural competence

[14:34] from the early stages from um,

[14:37] kindergarten, elementary and middle

[14:40] school and so forth. It should not start

[14:43] at ninth grade. which actually should

[14:45] start in our levels. And um this

[14:49] alignment of experiences

[14:51] um is important to be able to provide

[14:55] students with access to the core

[14:57] curriculum and high standards. And also

[14:59] going back to what I say about being

[15:01] able to um experience a enrich locally

[15:06] um informed educational uh curriculum

[15:10] and also to prepare them for the global

[15:13] economy and all the um future readiness

[15:15] that we're asking students to be ready.

[15:17] So going back to the question, I mean I

[15:20] think the the key thing is coherence and

[15:23] what we should be able to see that

[15:25] elements of that coherence throughout

[15:27] vertically in all the levels

[15:36] follow-up questions.

[15:41] » I'm just gonna say yes every time.

[15:43] » Okay. Member Cornell. Um, so just to

[15:46] drill down a little bit more on that,

[15:48] I'm wondering if you could talk about

[15:50] how you will work with teachers to

[15:56] assess whether or not we we are being

[15:59] coherent, right? Um, with our

[16:01] expectations and our follow through um

[16:04] and also ensuring high standards while

[16:07] we're doing that. And I think that also

[16:08] goes back to our the first question

[16:10] about our um you know about equity and

[16:14] making sure that our most marginalized

[16:15] students are getting the most having

[16:17] those h how you assess that and how you

[16:19] work with teachers to kind of make sure

[16:21] we're on track.

[16:23] » Yeah, I think you know definitely um

[16:25] with the educational data that we have

[16:28] that is to ensure that um that the

[16:32] educational programming is actually

[16:33] yielding the resource that we're looking

[16:35] for. For example, here um in Salem um

[16:39] you know it's it's remarkable the growth

[16:42] that we have seen with former English

[16:44] learners. Uh personally um in my current

[16:47] district I I participated in um in tried

[16:51] to introduce datainformed

[16:54] uh meetings regarding uh English

[16:56] learners uh in the sense of you know a

[16:59] kind of a variation of multi-ter systems

[17:02] of support in which we're using data to

[17:04] inform our educational moves and

[17:06] instructional practices.

[17:09] um is not too much about remediation a

[17:13] mindset of remediation but it's a

[17:15] mindset of what do we need to provide at

[17:18] the student at the right time uh at the

[17:20] right moment um so that the data inform

[17:26] instructional decisions is something

[17:28] that I will be looking as a

[17:29] superintendent and hopefully in um in

[17:32] different spaces there will be evidence

[17:35] that educators we are using that not as

[17:38] the only solution or the only aspect but

[17:42] that is actually partially informing our

[17:45] decision aside from understanding the uh

[17:48] context of the different students. So I

[17:50] think um going back to data on and

[17:53] seeing every year how we closing those

[17:56] gaps. For example, Salem has done

[17:59] remarkable in um their student growth.

[18:02] You know, even though that our prof our

[18:05] achievement um levels have not caught up

[18:07] yet, we know that research shows that

[18:10] sustained

[18:12] um increase in growth will actually pay

[18:15] off or show off with achievement. So um

[18:19] to your question about how we'll ensure

[18:21] that that is happening in classrooms and

[18:24] in schools. I think by having by

[18:27] listening and observing conversations in

[18:29] which educators are using data to inform

[18:33] their conversations.

[18:43] » Um member bias you have the next

[18:44] question. Can we get prepared first?

[18:49] » Hello. So, I'm going to be asking my

[18:52] question in Spanish and I just want to

[18:53] thank the interpreter here for helping

[18:55] us tonight.

[18:57] Let me know when you guys are ready.

[19:04] Okay.

[19:08] Okay.

[19:12] andific.

[19:42] Army

[19:59] parame

[20:16] experience.

[20:26] Um,

[20:34] collabor. Fore

[21:02] being inch.

[21:21] Um,

[21:22] in closing, I would like to say this in

[21:24] English for everyone to have access to

[21:26] it. I think the goal is for Salem to be

[21:30] a district where everyone feels that

[21:32] they belong.

[21:35] Gracias.

[21:36] » Gracias.

[21:44] » Any follow-ups?

[21:48] No.

[21:51] Um, member Hoffman,

[21:59] » Tell us about your experience supporting

[22:01] students who face significant barriers

[22:03] to success, including students from

[22:05] marginalized communities and those at

[22:07] risk of disengagement. How would you

[22:10] ensure Salem's systems identify needs

[22:14] early and provide effective support?

[22:18] Early

[22:20] identification

[22:22] is the name of the game is the most

[22:26] important aspect for me. Um

[22:30] in one of my previous um districts or

[22:34] actually schools

[22:36] um educators had access to a system that

[22:38] via email any educator in the team could

[22:42] actually communicate with the entire

[22:43] group when there was any uh reason for

[22:47] concern.

[22:48] Uh it didn't have to be a crisis. It

[22:50] just was just a concern. Um for example,

[22:53] in my case as a language um educator, if

[22:56] I had a concern about a particular

[22:58] student, I will just email the group of

[23:01] adults. Um this is what I'm seeing. This

[23:04] is I'm wondering and likely the

[23:06] counselor which as as a part of that

[23:08] group will reach out to me. I will try

[23:10] to understand better what I have seen or

[23:13] heard from the student or uh regarding

[23:16] the student performance and then they

[23:18] may share with me a little more context

[23:20] so I can understand um what is the

[23:23] reality of the student and what could be

[23:25] the factors um in playing into that.

[23:28] That system might seem really small but

[23:31] it's something that I had taken

[23:32] throughout my career in the sense that a

[23:36] concern we should not let a concern

[23:38] become a crisis and sometimes we

[23:41] formalize

[23:43] alert systems. Um yes they are designed

[23:47] to capture those moments but if we could

[23:50] also normalize more frequent more less

[23:54] formal in a way kind of informal way or

[23:57] letting other adults in the group on the

[24:00] team kind of know we will be able to

[24:02] kind of close that gap between a concern

[24:05] and a crisis. I think that when a

[24:08] student disengages in multiple

[24:10] disciplines, we have missed the mark. We

[24:14] should try to respond early and try to

[24:17] um access and and um provide that

[24:20] support from the early stages.

[24:33] » Member Cornell.

[24:36] Thank you. I'm wondering um if you could

[24:39] talk about how you will work with

[24:43] teachers, you know, the people who are

[24:44] really on the ground to ensure that

[24:48] we're not leaving students behind. Sort

[24:50] of what is your leadership look like in

[24:52] that regard? Um or how do you expect to

[24:55] engage with teachers to kind of make

[24:56] sure that everybody is prioritizing the

[24:59] same things?

[25:01] » Yeah. Um I mean obviously I mean there

[25:03] are there are structures in schools like

[25:06] um student student support and teams um

[25:09] data meetings also um at the building

[25:12] level that might bring up some of those

[25:15] conversations.

[25:16] Um personally currently in my district

[25:19] what we are working in what we call

[25:21] relationship mapping which is basically

[25:23] just a tool in which we are trying to

[25:25] account for every student making sure

[25:29] that they have at least a trusted adult.

[25:32] is not too much on the student

[25:34] perception of having an adult but

[25:36] actually matching the stu the adult or

[25:40] the teacher perception or of how they

[25:43] connect with a particular student. So

[25:46] we're trying to in that way kind of

[25:48] survey the landscape identify where we

[25:51] had gaps identify the students that have

[25:53] not been quote unquote claimed by any

[25:56] adult and then act as okay let's

[25:59] understand who can be that trusted

[26:01] adult. um so that so that the student is

[26:04] connected. A lot of times those uh gaps

[26:07] or holes in my current practice they

[26:10] happen to be new students, new transfer

[26:12] students that are new to the community.

[26:15] But also it kind of when we look at the

[26:18] aggregate data in those that that kind

[26:20] of practice it tell us a little bit

[26:22] about our practices and our about

[26:25] internal biases regarding why students

[26:29] need connections and why students don't

[26:31] need connections. So that is a very uh

[26:35] it's a small tool that's a daily

[26:37] practice but that is how currently we're

[26:40] trying to remind our staff members of

[26:43] the important of connections and

[26:45] hopefully those connections will allow

[26:47] us to have those identification as I

[26:49] mentioned in my previous question and

[26:52] then also be able to tackle a concern

[26:54] before it becomes a crisis.

[27:05] Okay. Um, next question is mine. Um,

[27:11] Dr. Allen, school districts across

[27:12] Massachusetts face significant fiscal

[27:15] challenges. Tell us about your approach

[27:17] to budgeting and resource allocation and

[27:19] share an example of how you've navigated

[27:22] a period of financial constraint.

[27:25] Yeah, as I mentioned, I mean, uh, budget

[27:27] is a value statement document. Um,

[27:32] in my experience, you know, um, as a

[27:35] department head, as a district director,

[27:39] um, I had an a situation in which, um,

[27:42] because of FD reductions, we had to look

[27:45] at, um, you know, cuts in the, uh, high

[27:49] school programming.

[27:51] um the cuts could have impacted the

[27:54] Chinese language program uh in my

[27:57] particular setting. Um, two of the key

[28:01] drivers going back to what I mentioned

[28:04] at the beginning about looking at

[28:06] budget, looking at finances, looking at

[28:08] impact from an equity lens was to

[28:11] appreciate the fact that our middle

[28:14] schools offer Spanish and French.

[28:17] Whereas um the only exposure or access

[28:20] to Chinese was actually at the high

[28:22] school level.

[28:24] the Chinese lang language program in

[28:26] this particular district actually

[28:28] represent was a statement of value

[28:30] because it it represented a significant

[28:33] portion of the demographic of the

[28:36] community. So that was one equity

[28:39] consideration.

[28:40] The second equity consideration was that

[28:43] for students that have not found success

[28:47] in French or Spanish at the middle

[28:48] school, uh having access to a different

[28:51] language, uh a very different language

[28:54] from the Romans languages of French and

[28:55] Spanish actually offer an opportunity to

[28:59] try again to reset and not lose that

[29:02] confidence of them becoming um language

[29:05] learners.

[29:07] Um the importance of small programs at

[29:11] the high school for example is that they

[29:13] tend to only have one teacher. So the

[29:15] students actually were um exposed or uh

[29:20] actually working with one educator for

[29:21] four years. So it created a level of

[29:24] safety that we were not being able to

[29:26] provide with the larger uh language

[29:29] programs. Again this is a decision that

[29:32] was not popular is not intuitive. Um and

[29:37] it's um it's the kind of decisions that

[29:40] one has to make and one has to own and

[29:43] be able to also absorb the negativity

[29:45] that will come that may come with the

[29:47] decision and not pass it to the the rest

[29:51] of the team or the rest of the staff

[29:53] because I believe that that's part of

[29:54] the being a servant leader to also be

[29:58] able to understand that there will be a

[30:00] price to be paid by decisions that had

[30:02] to be made but as long as one is

[30:04] transparent about what is the guiding

[30:05] principle in this case the two equity

[30:08] considerations

[30:10] um at least there's an understanding

[30:13] even though that people might not agree

[30:15] about the the execution of the plan when

[30:18] when I scale out envisioning what

[30:20] happens at the district level it's kind

[30:22] of the same being led by the same

[30:25] principles uh understanding what will be

[30:28] the impact of the cut or the budget

[30:31] change depending on the um the

[30:34] challenges of the budget and to ask

[30:37] ourselves about are there other ways to

[30:40] protect those vulnerable students and

[30:42] and families. Are there other services

[30:44] that comparable to that uh and it's not

[30:46] just an exercise of balancing numbers um

[30:51] even though that that's is you know

[30:53] obviously going to be present in those

[30:55] discussions.

[31:00] » Stop.

[31:02] » Thank you. Um

[31:04] I I had two quick questions actually.

[31:06] The first question was so the the

[31:08] example that you provided with the

[31:09] Chinese language program. Were you able

[31:11] to keep that program or did you have to

[31:14] no longer have that program in the

[31:15] district?

[31:16] » Yeah. So the specifics is that the there

[31:18] were some retirements happening in in in

[31:21] Spanish and also they we had a teacher

[31:23] that could actually teach both languages

[31:26] French and Spanish. So we were able to

[31:28] kind of like swing that person to

[31:30] support the not refilling the uh or

[31:34] replacing retirements in the Spanish

[31:36] program to be able to have enough FTEEs

[31:38] to be able to maintain the Chinese

[31:40] language teacher at that moment. So

[31:43] obviously by doing that class sizes

[31:45] increased you know this uh expectation

[31:48] like why you doing this I mean these are

[31:50] the most of our students are in Spanish

[31:52] and French they are now being served by

[31:55] these decisions but there was the equity

[31:57] consideration that I mentioned in my

[31:59] answer about this is the only space

[32:01] where a significant number of families

[32:04] see reflected and also it's important

[32:08] because otherwise we will be narrowing

[32:10] the language options for students that

[32:13] may not have seen success at at the

[32:14] middle school level.

[32:16] » Thank you for closing that loop for me.

[32:18] » Um and then just a question about the

[32:21] the budget communication in in general.

[32:24] Um you know it happens every year,

[32:26] right? We all know what's coming and so

[32:28] I'm curious as to what your your

[32:31] philosophy is with communication of the

[32:33] budget to you know the different groups

[32:35] that we have. So staff um families

[32:39] students even sometimes like how is that

[32:42] all communi or what's your philosophy of

[32:44] communicating that out and working with

[32:45] the other groups? Yeah, I think it comes

[32:48] back to what I have said in in some of

[32:50] the answers uh before

[32:53] just remind the community about the

[32:55] guiding principles. I mean they are

[32:57] budget drivers you know the you know

[32:59] that actually are f more financial in

[33:02] nature but also they should be a

[33:04] reminder to the community about the

[33:06] guiding principles so that when we start

[33:10] um having discussions

[33:12] the preemptively we have the we have

[33:14] shared with the community and with the

[33:15] stakeholders what will be the equity

[33:17] consideration that we'll be using for

[33:20] those decisions. Um I mean budgets um I

[33:24] would assume if it's similar to my

[33:26] previous districts I mean they basically

[33:29] start early in the fall. I mean when we

[33:31] start looking at at those um anticipated

[33:35] um sizes of revenues um we might

[33:38] anticipate any shortfall from the very

[33:40] beginning. We start asking programmatic

[33:42] questions at the at the academic council

[33:45] level we call it which is basically all

[33:47] the department heads and principals and

[33:49] directors. And then the equity question

[33:51] will be always the the equity probe that

[33:54] those conversations will be um will be

[33:58] used is who are these who are the

[34:01] families and students that will be

[34:02] impacted? how uh can we protect them and

[34:06] are other uh alternatives where students

[34:09] can still have access to the same

[34:11] educational outcomes that we wanted to

[34:13] provide for these other programs. the I

[34:16] think with with um staff I think given

[34:20] the declining enrollment that we're

[34:22] having across the state and even in a

[34:24] way the country I mean that's a it's a

[34:26] reality that communities are facing we

[34:29] have to be also be cognizant of the

[34:31] impact that immigration enforcement is

[34:33] having in in a number of our communities

[34:35] because it's impacting our enrollment so

[34:38] I think the more that we let people

[34:40] preemptively know what are the factors

[34:43] that are going to be at Okay.

[34:46] Is not going to alleviate the discomfort

[34:49] and the frustration but at least will

[34:53] allow people to see transparently what

[34:57] was the framework and the thinking

[34:58] behind the decisions.

[35:02] » Thank you.

[35:05] » Any further follow-ups? Member Cornell.

[35:10] As a body, we really value our

[35:12] relationships with our collective

[35:13] bargaining units and uh you know, the

[35:16] Salem Teachers Union is the biggest

[35:17] collective bargaining unit and is is the

[35:19] one most impacted when we have uh budget

[35:21] deficits. And we rely on the the

[35:25] superintendent to be that bridge between

[35:27] the Salem teachers union and the school

[35:29] committee both in the buildup to the

[35:31] budget process and and um and in the

[35:34] negotiation process as well which is

[35:37] dependent on budgets obviously but um so

[35:40] that as you know is an important job of

[35:42] school committee of the um the

[35:44] superintendent. So, I'm I'm wondering

[35:46] how how you'll negotiate that role of of

[35:53] um you know, being that liaison between

[35:56] us and and the the school commit or the

[35:59] um the teachers union uh preparing them

[36:03] for uh potential deficits, you know, how

[36:07] do you see that relationship evolving as

[36:09] you as you get into the job?

[36:12] Yeah, that's a great question and I I

[36:15] have to admit that in my experience I

[36:17] have not seen the perfect way to do it.

[36:22] I mean I just want to be honest about

[36:23] that. I think it's always uh hope that

[36:26] there will be some kind of um

[36:30] anticipated communication that will uh

[36:33] avoid that sense of shock and

[36:36] frustration that comes and at the same

[36:38] time the um

[36:42] the sometimes the details of knowing

[36:44] exactly how a reduction will impact a

[36:48] specific employees or in specific number

[36:51] of FDs is always uh a tricky uh act to

[36:55] navigate. I will say that bringing back

[36:58] everything I have said, I mean I will I

[37:00] will assume that Salem compared to other

[37:03] districts will have routine

[37:05] conversations with leadership. I I I am

[37:08] currently part of those leadership um

[37:11] you know once a month every you know

[37:13] twice a month uh communications and

[37:15] engagement and one of the guiding

[37:18] principle is let's try to avoid

[37:20] surprises

[37:22] uh let's try to at least as much as we

[37:24] can you know giving our different roles

[37:27] um to be able to kind of give a heads up

[37:30] and and try to also be open to um

[37:36] to different perspectives. I think what

[37:39] I would I would hope if it's possible to

[37:42] bring is a space and a time where uh

[37:46] decisions have not been made and

[37:48] decisions can actually um entertain

[37:52] multiple perspectives because budget can

[37:54] give you a sense of where the gaps are

[37:57] but the stories and perspectives are the

[37:59] ones that actually will inform you about

[38:02] the impact. So on the one hand as I'm

[38:04] holding the kind of the primordia

[38:07] principle for me of understanding the

[38:10] impact and making sure that the impact

[38:11] is not falling on the most vulnerable to

[38:14] really of be able to understand that

[38:16] impact uh requires engagement with uh

[38:20] the teach association with other um you

[38:23] know uh units of the um the collective

[38:26] bargaining agreement uh because those

[38:29] are the stories that really inform what

[38:31] just the numbers are kind of like

[38:33] leading us to to focus on

[38:43] member Miranda.

[38:48] » How do you balance supporting principles

[38:51] and school leaders with holding them

[38:53] accountable when student outcomes,

[38:55] school climate, or equity goals are not

[38:57] being consistently met?

[39:00] » Thank you for the question. Uh I would

[39:03] like to start by saying that I don't see

[39:06] um support and accountability as

[39:09] mutually exclusive you know

[39:11] propositions.

[39:13] I actually see them as basically the two

[39:16] halves of one situation.

[39:19] Um

[39:21] it is not fair to hold any any educator

[39:24] accountable for um goals that we have

[39:29] not spend the time explaining

[39:32] and providing resources and coaching um

[39:35] the educators to be able to execute that

[39:37] plan when adults you know basically um

[39:42] adults are just grownup students. So the

[39:44] same thing that that we face sometimes

[39:47] in the classroom in be able to kind of

[39:49] manage um changes it also happens with

[39:53] adults. When adults tend to face or tend

[39:57] to react in a reactive way, an

[39:59] oppositional way is we have to be able

[40:02] to slow down and appreciate and assess

[40:06] if this is coming because of fear of not

[40:09] knowing how to do it

[40:12] and fear that if I don't know how to do

[40:15] it, would I be fired? Would I lose my

[40:17] job? Would I lose my standing? So it's

[40:20] important that in the coaching of of

[40:23] every um leader the superintendent is

[40:28] getting close to that building leader or

[40:31] that department leader or program leader

[40:33] to uh to ensure that that leader

[40:36] understands what the goal is about. that

[40:40] that leader develops um a sense of what

[40:43] kind of resources they might have to

[40:46] provide to their staff in order for the

[40:48] goal to be accomplished and that they

[40:51] have time to believe in the goal. Uh

[40:55] personally I you know bring it to the

[40:58] educator level to to the educator level.

[41:02] I had um a situation with a couple of

[41:04] educators in which um I feel that we

[41:09] provided coaching and support and

[41:10] resources for extended period of time

[41:14] and the educators were not able to uh

[41:16] meet those goals. Um it was not

[41:20] necessarily a lack of uh skills was not

[41:23] really a lack of resources. It came down

[41:26] to be a mismatch between

[41:30] the district beliefs and the personal

[41:32] beliefs of the educators.

[41:34] Do I continue providing the coaching?

[41:38] The uh the educators then came to the

[41:40] point that they realized that it was not

[41:42] going to be a match between what they

[41:45] believe and there was no way they could

[41:46] they could access the district goals. So

[41:49] they in both cases they decided to uh

[41:51] separate themselves from the from the

[41:53] positions.

[41:54] Um that's not really a failure of

[41:57] accountability. It's actually

[41:59] accountability h providing a little

[42:02] dignity to allow professionals to come

[42:04] to that realization when there's no way

[42:08] that they can give up their personal

[42:11] beliefs in order to align them with the

[42:13] district beliefs. Um I I view that those

[42:17] cases as exceptions rather than the

[42:19] rules because educators normally come to

[42:22] education because they really want to

[42:24] make a difference in in students and

[42:26] families.

[42:27] Um so I think the same kind of um

[42:31] pattern kind of works for a

[42:33] superintendent working with building

[42:34] levels building uh leaders in the sense

[42:37] of ensuring that when a building leader

[42:42] is not meeting the the standard is not

[42:45] achieving the goal is not a question of

[42:48] what's wrong with the leader but it's

[42:50] actually an introspective question for a

[42:52] superintendent to ask what why am I or

[42:55] what are we not providing the leader

[42:57] leader as far as coaching and support

[42:59] for them to continue with that growth.

[43:02] And I think it's important that uh

[43:05] building leaders at the same time as a

[43:07] superintendent, we have the patience and

[43:09] the willingness to go through that

[43:11] journey to go through that process and

[43:14] and that we can provide some grace to

[43:16] each other in that in that journey. Um,

[43:20] and that it basically because that's the

[43:23] same kind of modeling I would like for

[43:25] them to share with their staff when

[43:27] they're coaching classroom teachers as

[43:28] well.

[43:39] » Thank you. I really appreciated

[43:41] appreciated that sentiment about um

[43:44] you know looking at yourself you know as

[43:46] a as the leader um and saying what am I

[43:48] you know how how what am I not providing

[43:51] you know doing doing a little personal

[43:53] reflection that's um important in

[43:55] leadership so um just to piggyback on

[43:58] that I'm wondering what role or h how I

[44:04] may not be saying this correctly because

[44:06] I'm not a teacher but it's sort of how

[44:09] how um

[44:11] professional development

[44:14] can be used to help to support teachers,

[44:17] which is what it's for. But like how do

[44:19] you view professional development um

[44:23] as a you know as a tool to help give

[44:25] give um our educators the support that

[44:28] they need? What would your approach be

[44:30] to professional development?

[44:31] » Thank you. I appreciate the question. Um

[44:36] I have maybe a little individual

[44:39] perspective on this. I I believe the

[44:41] professional development

[44:43] at its best is when is more about

[44:46] coaching and the the reason why I use

[44:48] that those those terms in a distinctive

[44:51] way is that sometimes professional

[44:53] development sounds to educators as a one

[44:56] shot check a box. Here we go. We taught

[44:59] it. You should do it. And the same

[45:03] analogy and extension of what I'm saying

[45:04] like adults were just like grown-up

[45:06] students is that there there's a

[45:09] learning curve and the question is when

[45:11] I'm learning the new skill in order for

[45:14] the new task or goal that has been set

[45:18] for the district or for the school

[45:21] am I being able to share my my failures

[45:26] and my small successes with someone? Am

[45:29] I able to get feedback, timely feedback

[45:33] so I can know how to improve? And so I

[45:36] think for me professional development

[45:39] that is really uh most effective is the

[45:42] one that resembles coaching. So it's

[45:44] like a sustained relationship

[45:48] um throughout the the um learning the

[45:51] new learning that educators are being

[45:53] asked to to acquire rather than just one

[45:57] presentation. an afterchool one or two

[46:00] hour session.

[46:09] » Uh, next question is member stop.

[46:12] » Thank you. Salem has a strong foundation

[46:16] and an ambitious future including a

[46:19] transformative high school project that

[46:21] will impact the community for

[46:23] generations. What should Salem schools

[46:25] look like 10 years from now? And how can

[46:27] the superintendent ensure that long-term

[46:29] investments remain educationally sound,

[46:32] fiscally responsible, and responsive to

[46:34] community needs?

[46:36] » Yeah, thank you. Um

[46:41] the buildings and infrastructures that

[46:44] those are the easy part. I think the the

[46:47] real um core of the enterprise is

[46:52] actually the program and the vision

[46:54] inside the building. Um it's important

[46:57] that our capital investments or

[47:00] infrastructure investments are a

[47:02] reflection of our educational vision,

[47:06] not the other way around.

[47:08] Um it's important that that we find ways

[47:13] to include the key um comm school

[47:17] community me uh members who are

[47:20] basically the educators and students not

[47:24] just in the planning phase um but also

[47:27] in the implementation phase so that our

[47:30] initiatives have um

[47:33] vibrancy and currency as we implement

[47:38] Um my job is to ensure that a for

[47:43] example in the case of the um future

[47:45] high school that the uh future the

[47:48] future high school maintains the uh

[47:51] educational programming that Salem

[47:53] values and that is actually is a place

[47:56] where there's a ocean of opportunities

[47:58] for students.

[48:00] Um it is important that the three

[48:04] elements that I heard from the students

[48:05] when I met with them that they love

[48:07] about Sale High are preserved and

[48:10] actually uh better resource the regular

[48:14] high school programming

[48:16] their uh vocational pathways

[48:19] uh and also something that I I learned

[48:21] in talking to the high school principal

[48:23] is about your robust uh early college u

[48:26] programming as well. So um it's

[48:30] important to keep that currency that we

[48:34] are always asking ourselves if these

[48:36] investments are the um in in service

[48:41] with educational vision and that um we

[48:44] constantly find ways to for any capital

[48:48] improvement to actually reflect those

[48:50] educational goals and visions that we we

[48:52] have set for the for the community.

[49:03] and we're stopp

[49:04] Thank you. Um I would love to unpack a

[49:06] little more if you don't mind the

[49:08] response about educators and students

[49:10] need to be involved in not just the

[49:11] implementation but the the planning

[49:13] process and the um you know the the

[49:16] before we get to the end part. How do

[49:18] you envision that happening or what has

[49:20] worked for you in the past with making

[49:22] sure those voices are heard?

[49:24] » Right.

[49:26] um

[49:29] in any new construction. I mean I'm I'm

[49:31] focusing on the on the building of the

[49:33] new high school. I anticipate that with

[49:35] rising costs with uh unanticipated

[49:39] challenges that the construction may

[49:41] face that we have not been able to to um

[49:45] protect or forecast with the finances

[49:47] that there will be decisions that will

[49:48] have to be made. So I think it's

[49:49] important with educators and students

[49:52] that uh the superintendent creates a

[49:54] list of the non-negotiables of the most

[49:57] haves and the other a second list of the

[50:02] in case we need to cut something because

[50:04] of rising costs or any external

[50:06] challenges that we could live without.

[50:09] If the educational programming is one,

[50:12] let's say that uh fosters maker spaces

[50:16] and and innovation or and spaces where

[50:19] students can actually integrate a lot of

[50:21] the STEM um knowledge and and um create

[50:26] projects. I mean, do we have those wide

[50:29] open spaces to allow that more agnostic

[50:32] spaces opposed to just um subject bound

[50:36] spaces? And I think in in creating those

[50:39] master lists of the we're going to try

[50:42] to protect this at all cost and these

[50:45] are the ones that if needed that

[50:48] students and educators have been part of

[50:50] that of those conversations because I

[50:52] think the last thing that we want is to

[50:54] have a final product that the the school

[50:57] community did not feel that their voices

[51:01] were represented or honored uh through

[51:03] the project.

[51:13] member Cornell.

[51:16] » So, we've

[51:18] we've had a lot to think about with

[51:20] regard to infrastructure in the past few

[51:22] years, as I'm sure you probably know.

[51:24] So, we, you know, we've consolidated

[51:26] middle schools, we've consolidated

[51:28] schools, um we've moved some some two

[51:32] programs into another school. Uh so

[51:35] going forward, we have a lot to think

[51:36] about. I think particularly around preK.

[51:39] Um even though our enrollment numbers

[51:40] are are good, we're in good shape

[51:43] relative to other districts. You know,

[51:44] we still need to think about that um

[51:46] birth rate cliff, you know, going

[51:48] forward. So thinking about buildings is,

[51:52] I don't think something that any of us

[51:54] love to think about, but it's something

[51:55] we really have to think about. So um I'd

[51:58] love to know

[52:00] it. It is a day one job. is really

[52:03] thinking about the infrastructure. So,

[52:05] I'd like to know um kind of what your

[52:09] approach would be to to really thinking

[52:12] about what's in our portfolio of

[52:13] buildings um and how we how do we how do

[52:16] we utilize them? You spoke to it a

[52:17] little bit um but there's also like

[52:20] there's a lot of practicality to it, you

[52:23] know. So, I'm just wondering kind of

[52:24] like how you would jump in and and start

[52:27] thinking about literal buildings, you

[52:30] know?

[52:32] That's a great question and I I'm not

[52:34] sure if I'll be able to answer the

[52:35] question because of not knowing more the

[52:37] specifics.

[52:39] Um,

[52:44] » There's a good chance I didn't ask it

[52:45] very well. So,

[52:46] » No, no, no, no, no. I guess it's just is

[52:48] it's a reflection more of my lack of

[52:51] understand my lack of knowledge already

[52:54] of the um details and nuances that you

[52:57] might expecting the superintendent to

[53:00] kind of know at this point. Um

[53:04] » So

[53:06] » My question may be

[53:07] » How how are you going to get into it

[53:11] because we won't expect you to know on

[53:12] the first day but kind of like how are

[53:14] you going to jump into this and try to

[53:15] tackle it? Ah, okay.

[53:19] Uh, in my experience, building

[53:22] conversations have always been um a

[53:25] multi-year, very long conversations. And

[53:28] I think it's important for a um a public

[53:32] school system to have an uh a vision of

[53:37] not necessarily the decay of buildings

[53:40] where but we start getting the warning

[53:42] signs that the infrastructure is might

[53:45] not be yielding a safe or uh educational

[53:50] educationally

[53:51] conducive environment.

[53:54] and and I in my experience that at at

[53:58] the first signs of those things that's

[53:59] when we I guess our partner this time

[54:02] will partner with the mayor to try to

[54:04] understand what are the um the city's um

[54:08] list of priorities and how where will

[54:11] that stack up in their punchline of

[54:14] projects and things that they have to to

[54:16] um assess.

[54:19] Um for example in my current community

[54:22] there has been a lot of conversations

[54:23] about AC because of given the extreme

[54:27] weather that we have been experiencing

[54:29] and which is based on science is not

[54:32] it's not going to get any better anytime

[54:34] soon. Um those conversations are also

[54:38] multi-year conversations. So I think as

[54:42] a superintendent the first thing one

[54:44] should do is to visit the sites and

[54:46] spend time in the sites.

[54:50] um really get to um walk the building

[54:54] from the principal perspective to

[54:57] understand where those um

[55:01] infrastructure niches are are already

[55:04] showing signs of distress and then um be

[55:09] able to start understanding the economic

[55:13] and financial relationship between the

[55:14] schools and the city to be able to

[55:16] understand where will they fall in the

[55:18] list of either repairs or replacement or

[55:22] new project if needed. So I my short

[55:26] answer to the question at this point I

[55:28] will say the superintendent needs to

[55:30] spend a lot of time visiting the sites

[55:32] and really stand spending time with the

[55:33] principles to understand what is

[55:36] happening in those schools.

[55:41] » Other follow-ups on that question? Uh I

[55:44] just have a a quick one. So you you

[55:46] talked about we talked about the future

[55:49] perspective of capital facilities and

[55:51] buildings, but so zooming out 10 years

[55:54] down the road, um what does the district

[55:56] look like from an achievement

[55:58] perspective or a culture perspective to

[56:00] your mind?

[56:01] Yeah, I think 10 years from now, I would

[56:05] like to see Salem

[56:08] be a place where we have definitely

[56:11] moved the needle regarding achievement

[56:14] uh according to state benchmarks with

[56:16] MCCAST proficiency and so forth. I will

[56:20] I will vision a district that is

[56:23] actually graduating students that have a

[56:27] strong

[56:30] threeprong approach. They have a solid

[56:33] high school a regular high school

[56:35] curriculum exposure. they have a a

[56:38] vibrant exposure to vocational uh and

[56:42] technical uh pathways and also uh

[56:45] students that have been able if they so

[56:48] wish to uh access early college

[56:51] opportunities.

[56:53] I would like to see a district like

[56:57] Salem really embracing their assets

[57:00] being multicultural and multilingual

[57:04] in the sense of um equipping the

[57:06] students to be ready globally and by

[57:09] that I mean that every Salem student to

[57:13] graduate being proficient in at least

[57:16] two languages.

[57:19] um we have a robust Spanish um program

[57:22] and we have a a dual language program

[57:25] and I think that there's uh a lot of

[57:27] promise in those practices and I would

[57:29] like to see how that could extend

[57:32] vertically on both ways. I mean even I

[57:34] would like to understand more about the

[57:36] prek opportunities in dual language if

[57:39] if we don't offer them yet and what how

[57:41] would that look like if we sustain the

[57:43] growth in secondary. I would like to see

[57:46] a student that feels that sale prepare

[57:49] them to be effective contributors in

[57:54] anywhere around the globe because of in

[57:58] sale they experience diversity. They

[58:00] understand uh different stories that

[58:03] this community holds and and that the

[58:06] educational preparation have given them

[58:09] the tools to be effective in in our

[58:12] economy.

[58:19] Member Miranda,

[58:23] » Describe a time when feedback from

[58:26] families, staff, or community members

[58:29] caused you to rethink your initial

[58:31] approach to an issue. How did you

[58:33] communicate your decision? And what did

[58:35] the experience teach you about

[58:37] leadership?

[58:40] Yeah, I think that um

[58:43] I'm going to offer an example because I

[58:46] think that trust um needs to be earned

[58:50] or demonstrated, not just described. Um

[58:54] when I started in my in one of my

[58:56] previous um districts,

[58:58] um the the world language program was

[59:01] undergoing a uh changing at the middle

[59:04] school level. Um there was actually has

[59:08] there was a consolidation from three

[59:10] languages to just one language. Um and

[59:13] then I was kind of thrown into this uh

[59:16] environment uh when I was hired. Um the

[59:21] the language that was chosen for the

[59:22] middle school was Spanish. So the

[59:24] community was um kind of upset when they

[59:28] saw me, a black Hispanic coming as a

[59:30] world language department head. they um

[59:32] in their minds they were connecting the

[59:34] dots that okay they want to institute

[59:37] only Spanish and they bring a Hispanic

[59:40] um educator to kind of run the program.

[59:43] Um the feedback was like so

[59:48] um emotional and negative that we had to

[59:52] offer a a a evening forum to the from

[59:55] some of the families. um in that evening

[59:57] forum um families was expressing a lot

[1:00:00] of frustration. Um and something that I

[1:00:04] did said to them is that I come to

[1:00:08] education and to this administrative

[1:00:11] roles as a public servant that I don't

[1:00:14] come to this role thinking I'm I'm the

[1:00:17] expert who's going to bring solutions

[1:00:19] that the community have not even asked

[1:00:21] for.

[1:00:23] um in that public service stance. I I

[1:00:26] asked them for some grace to allow me

[1:00:28] time to sit with the dilemma with the

[1:00:31] feedback I was hearing from them with

[1:00:33] the consolation that has been done at

[1:00:35] least for one year by the time of my

[1:00:38] arrival for me to understand what are

[1:00:40] the forces that led to that

[1:00:43] consolidation and and what is the impact

[1:00:46] that that is having on families and

[1:00:48] students. Um after

[1:00:52] leaving being honest to that and

[1:00:54] upholding that promise uh we were able

[1:00:57] to reinstate French into the middle

[1:01:00] school program. Um so then the program

[1:01:03] was designed to have two languages

[1:01:04] instead of just one. We I was not able

[1:01:07] to um bring back Latin in the way

[1:01:09] families have uh hope.

[1:01:12] uh in order to maintain that promise, I

[1:01:15] I I I really uh tried to keep a vibrant

[1:01:18] Latin program at the high school. Um

[1:01:20] that was kind of like my

[1:01:24] evidence of holding that promise. And um

[1:01:27] and I just communicated to um families

[1:01:32] that while I could not

[1:01:36] deliver over all the the expectations

[1:01:39] that I did stay open to be humble and

[1:01:45] listen to the perspective and understand

[1:01:47] their perspectives and try to remediate

[1:01:49] that as much as possible. So I think

[1:01:52] that um I think that's an example on

[1:01:55] when um you know when negative feedback

[1:01:59] comes one one's way is to write is to

[1:02:03] really sit in that place of humility and

[1:02:06] be able to open up the conversation.

[1:02:09] uh to be able to um not have so much

[1:02:14] pride into a specific outcome but be

[1:02:17] able to be humble and be able to change

[1:02:20] course if the information the new

[1:02:22] information that it comes to one kind of

[1:02:25] um informs that it was basically a bad

[1:02:28] decision at the beginning. So that's my

[1:02:31] example of how I I try to build trust in

[1:02:34] in challenging situations.

[1:02:44] follow-up questions.

[1:02:46] Member Cornell.

[1:02:49] » So, I appreciate that uh

[1:02:54] um noting humility and and and being

[1:02:56] able to to reflect before reacting. Uh

[1:02:59] that's that's um important. I'm

[1:03:01] wondering how will you establish regular

[1:03:05] lines of communication with different

[1:03:08] groups whether that's families um

[1:03:11] educators community partners kids when

[1:03:15] there's not a crisis. of the the

[1:03:18] everyday communicating.

[1:03:21] » Yeah. I think that communication similar

[1:03:24] to equity is not a um

[1:03:29] is is really a commitment to to

[1:03:32] structures that will allow for um

[1:03:37] genuine engagement and as you said not

[1:03:40] to engage when a situation is a crisis.

[1:03:44] Um something that I learned from the um

[1:03:46] sale high school students is that

[1:03:47] there's a superintendent council with

[1:03:50] students and they were describing how

[1:03:53] even they have elementary school

[1:03:55] students and that really uh blew my mind

[1:03:58] because of um having the the be able to

[1:04:01] visualize not just the typical reaching

[1:04:03] out to high school students because

[1:04:05] they're older mature or maybe to an

[1:04:08] extent the middle school students but I

[1:04:09] Salem is intentional in trying to even

[1:04:12] include when it's developmentally

[1:04:13] approach appropriate, you know, students

[1:04:15] perspective on on conversations. As I

[1:04:18] mentioned in one of my previous um

[1:04:20] answers

[1:04:21] um visiting with the community, visiting

[1:04:24] not always waiting for the community to

[1:04:26] come to the schools who actually

[1:04:29] understanding where are the regular

[1:04:31] points of u meetings, where are the um

[1:04:34] regular spaces and ways that that people

[1:04:37] communicate uh regularly and to not be a

[1:04:40] stranger to try to to come to

[1:04:44] I I I had a meeting with a group of um

[1:04:46] families recently in which I told them

[1:04:49] that I was valuing frequent

[1:04:51] communication and not crisis

[1:04:53] communication by sharing with the

[1:04:56] community even if they're just nuggets

[1:04:58] doesn't have to be a big news doesn't

[1:05:01] have to be a resolve issue but like

[1:05:04] welcoming um you know really welcoming

[1:05:08] community partners as partners not as

[1:05:12] guests you know when it's a school event

[1:05:14] or something like that. So, um I think

[1:05:19] that is really looking at what we have

[1:05:23] as regular practices and making sure

[1:05:25] that those those regular practices of

[1:05:28] meeting with different uh constituencies

[1:05:31] um have covered the ones especially the

[1:05:35] ones of the communities I mentioned that

[1:05:37] are more vulnerable and less visible. Um

[1:05:40] in addition to that I I feel it's

[1:05:42] important to have a portfolio of um

[1:05:46] media not just always expect the evening

[1:05:49] in person meeting but also to be able to

[1:05:51] acknowledge and recognize that some

[1:05:54] working families some um families that

[1:05:58] are that is hard almost impossible for

[1:06:01] them to come in per to come in person to

[1:06:04] a evening event that they may need uh

[1:06:07] communication that is still um virtual

[1:06:11] uh that is still uh via email, not

[1:06:14] bombard people with bulletins and

[1:06:16] newsletters, but uh really find ways to

[1:06:20] just share little nuggets so they are

[1:06:23] hearing often and frequently and don't

[1:06:26] have to wait for the big earth

[1:06:28] shattering news um to hear from the

[1:06:30] superintendent.

[1:06:35] » Member Miranda,

[1:06:38] » Thank you. Um, I sincerely appreciate

[1:06:41] your interest in our district. Um, what

[1:06:44] you've shared about your philosophy

[1:06:46] around centering dignity when it comes

[1:06:49] to um, in the educational experience,

[1:06:53] not just with students, but also with

[1:06:55] um, staff and also some of the

[1:06:59] non-traditional educational experiences

[1:07:01] that uh, you would bring to the table as

[1:07:04] a leader. Um and and with that I I would

[1:07:08] like to ask can you share the ways uh

[1:07:11] having not held a superintendent

[1:07:12] position before um or an assistant

[1:07:15] superintendent position um please share

[1:07:19] the ways that you believe that you're

[1:07:21] ready for this role.

[1:07:23] » Yeah. Thank you for the question. Um,

[1:07:27] I guess I will start with um with

[1:07:30] something that my family

[1:07:33] um they kind of raised me in the in this

[1:07:36] concept. Um I'm going to say in Spanish

[1:07:40] first I'm going to translate it. But

[1:07:45] mucho

[1:07:46] uh one that is faithful in the small

[1:07:49] things is also faithful in the larger

[1:07:52] things.

[1:07:54] um while because of role constraints I

[1:07:58] have not have the opportunity to um be

[1:08:01] invited to have the role of assistant

[1:08:04] superintendent or superintendent

[1:08:06] previously. I I think I I have a track

[1:08:09] record that has shown what my values

[1:08:12] are, my uh approach to leadership that

[1:08:15] is based on relationships.

[1:08:18] Um I had for the last four or five years

[1:08:20] I have been part of the um at the senior

[1:08:24] team level and I have in g because of my

[1:08:27] role I have worked closely with the

[1:08:29] superintendent in um in challenging

[1:08:33] decisions because every time there's an

[1:08:36] issue that has to do with DEI it tends

[1:08:38] to be challenging

[1:08:40] um those

[1:08:42] exposures and opportunities are giving

[1:08:44] me a deeper understanding of how a

[1:08:48] district works. Currently, uh my current

[1:08:51] district, while on the surface might

[1:08:53] seem the opposite or not align with what

[1:08:57] Salem is, is similar in size, is similar

[1:09:00] in the student population and is similar

[1:09:03] in comparable as in the number of

[1:09:05] schools and that has also has given me a

[1:09:07] sense of how to navigate the different

[1:09:10] levels in a district um from the

[1:09:12] superintendent lens. So um I don't

[1:09:17] personally honestly I feel that I am the

[1:09:21] right um candidate for this position not

[1:09:25] because I I have all the answers because

[1:09:27] of previous experiences but because uh I

[1:09:31] can convey because of my track record

[1:09:34] that I uh I I am someone who will

[1:09:37] actually will sit with the problems will

[1:09:40] listen carefully and we're very

[1:09:42] thoughtful about finding solutions that

[1:09:45] are responsive. So, it is in a way

[1:09:50] um what I'm

[1:09:53] what I'm hoping a district will value is

[1:09:56] the um the how the superintendent will

[1:10:00] present. How will the superintendent

[1:10:03] show up? How will that will that person

[1:10:06] be faithful to our families when no one

[1:10:10] is seen? when the budget is tight and

[1:10:13] when decisions have to be made. So I

[1:10:16] think that what I may not bring all the

[1:10:20] bells and whistles of someone or people

[1:10:23] that have held positions very closer

[1:10:26] quote unquote to the superintendency. I

[1:10:28] think my live experiences as a

[1:10:31] professional and the uh commitments and

[1:10:34] values that I have used in all the

[1:10:36] different levels of my career um could

[1:10:41] be solid evidence that could hopefully

[1:10:44] Salem could could believe in and could

[1:10:46] trust that I will be faithful to those

[1:10:49] commitments if I'm invited to come to

[1:10:51] Salem.

[1:10:53] » Thank you.

[1:10:57] Any further follow-ups?

[1:11:00] Member Hoffman,

[1:11:02] » I just have a quick followup because we

[1:11:04] were talking about DEI and inclusion.

[1:11:07] And my question is um how how will you

[1:11:11] show up to help the LGBTQ community uh

[1:11:14] especially in these trying times with

[1:11:15] the trans ban in um sports which doesn't

[1:11:18] really affect Massachusetts but I know

[1:11:20] there's lots of concerns with families

[1:11:23] and how will you make how will you help

[1:11:25] those families feel comfortable coming

[1:11:27] and talking to you?

[1:11:30] » Yeah, that's a great question. Um the

[1:11:34] way that we have um shaped the work is

[1:11:37] to make sure that

[1:11:41] students see themselves in the

[1:11:44] curriculum and instruction. But to your

[1:11:46] question about how families will feel uh

[1:11:50] comfortable approaching

[1:11:52] me as a DIA director, as a

[1:11:54] superintendent,

[1:11:56] I think is is is um is based on the

[1:11:59] actions and um and based on showing care

[1:12:05] for the um the experiences, not

[1:12:09] necessarily because of coming from an

[1:12:12] intellectual lens like I understand

[1:12:15] but coming from a commitment that um

[1:12:19] that I I am there and I will be there um

[1:12:23] when challenging times comes. For

[1:12:24] example,

[1:12:26] um we I have shown courage regarding the

[1:12:32] the curriculum and inclusion of

[1:12:34] representation and and also um by

[1:12:39] connecting with other stakeholders in in

[1:12:41] the in the town where I reside. um by

[1:12:46] making sure

[1:12:49] like for example at the high school um

[1:12:52] where I work there's um there's a

[1:12:54] display of

[1:12:57] flags of different countries and also

[1:12:59] there's a BLM flag and also a pride

[1:13:02] pride flag

[1:13:04] um in working or attending um the school

[1:13:08] council meetings for example the the

[1:13:10] school council in my current community

[1:13:13] um recommended

[1:13:15] that um those value principle flags were

[1:13:19] not at the same level as the national

[1:13:22] flags. As a DI director, I show my

[1:13:25] support in those kind of recommendations

[1:13:28] and also in advising the superintendent

[1:13:30] of how to implement those things. So I

[1:13:34] will maybe answer that question that I'm

[1:13:37] not sure if I just by

[1:13:42] just by being people will feel

[1:13:44] comfortable. Um I don't want to fall

[1:13:47] into that uh cliche of quoting people I

[1:13:50] have friends and families you know

[1:13:51] that's like so not appropriate but I I

[1:13:56] hope that uh my actions are showing that

[1:14:01] um that I truly believe in those values

[1:14:04] and I truly believe that our students

[1:14:07] should feel safe and seen in in our in

[1:14:10] all our spaces. And the and the third

[1:14:13] level

[1:14:14] might be a little more

[1:14:16] micro talking about the smaller things.

[1:14:20] Um we have a system of reporting when

[1:14:22] incidents happen and a lot of incidents

[1:14:25] sadly but is the reality happens among

[1:14:28] students and and I will say that because

[1:14:32] I'm the the recipient of those u reports

[1:14:35] either from students or educators

[1:14:38] after race you know gender identity um

[1:14:42] sexual orientation are the ones that are

[1:14:45] second and third in the number of

[1:14:47] incidents. I think that um

[1:14:51] while my work tends to be a little more

[1:14:53] behind the scenes, but people that know

[1:14:54] the work will know that we when those

[1:14:57] situations happen, we try to respond

[1:14:59] timely

[1:15:01] um and in a visible way so that the

[1:15:03] students that were the target feel that

[1:15:06] um that they are respected and valued.

[1:15:09] And that is the work that I my role kind

[1:15:12] of like asked me to kind of put in place

[1:15:15] um for the for the welfare and support

[1:15:17] of the LGBTQ plus um families and

[1:15:21] students.

[1:15:27] » Any final followup questions? Yeah,

[1:15:28] member Cornell.

[1:15:30] » I have a a question that that um

[1:15:35] follows up on Veronica's question, which

[1:15:37] is this. You know, as a new

[1:15:39] superintendent, you'll have a new

[1:15:41] experience of having to build

[1:15:43] relationships with the school committee.

[1:15:45] And so um I'm wondering how you'll go

[1:15:49] about developing relationship with us as

[1:15:51] a body and also individually um what

[1:15:55] that you know what your approach will

[1:15:57] be.

[1:15:59] » Yeah it's a great question. Um, I don't

[1:16:01] know if it's a local uh configuration,

[1:16:05] but um,

[1:16:08] in my experience, I tend to see the

[1:16:10] superintendent interacting more with the

[1:16:12] chair and the co-chair of the school

[1:16:14] committee. Um, I think, you know, I have

[1:16:18] been able to build the relationships and

[1:16:21] I feel that even as a superintendent,

[1:16:25] relationships are built by doing things

[1:16:27] together. And I think that it's not the

[1:16:31] social, you know, pleasantry exchanges,

[1:16:34] but it's actually the moment of doing

[1:16:36] the work is actually what brings strong

[1:16:38] connections. Um, I, as a superintendent,

[1:16:43] it's important to participate in school

[1:16:47] committee subcommittees. For example, we

[1:16:49] have one for policy and we meet with two

[1:16:53] um

[1:16:54] school committee members who are not the

[1:16:56] chair or the um vice chair. So those

[1:17:00] working groups are are opportunities for

[1:17:03] a superintendent to kind of build that

[1:17:05] relationship with individual school

[1:17:07] committee members. Well, I think we'll

[1:17:09] circle back that is really uh because of

[1:17:12] the open meeting laws, we cannot do too

[1:17:14] many things as a group, but it really

[1:17:17] come from finding opportunities to work

[1:17:20] with each uh school committee member

[1:17:22] individually as a school committee

[1:17:24] member or as a president in whatever

[1:17:28] work or advocacy

[1:17:30] um

[1:17:32] duties or participation that they have

[1:17:34] in the community also. So I think uh I

[1:17:37] will close by saying just by doing

[1:17:38] things together that's how relationships

[1:17:40] are built.

[1:17:48] » Okay.

[1:17:49] » All right. Dr. Allen, a closing

[1:17:51] statement if you'd like.

[1:17:52] » Uh first of all, I want to thank you

[1:17:54] all. I want to thank the school

[1:17:56] committee for the opportunity for me to

[1:17:58] uh spend uh now you know a full day and

[1:18:02] then now uh this evening with um here

[1:18:05] with Salem. Um

[1:18:08] I came to this evening wanted to

[1:18:10] highlight two things. Um it was one the

[1:18:16] um that I feel that Salem is not you

[1:18:20] know trying to restart something. I

[1:18:22] don't feel that Salem is needs or is

[1:18:25] looking for someone to create something

[1:18:27] new per se. I personally believe that

[1:18:30] that Salem will benefit from having

[1:18:33] someone that actually will sustain the

[1:18:35] work, will shepher the work and be um be

[1:18:39] a humble partner and listener with uh

[1:18:42] the initiatives that we already have to

[1:18:45] have underway. And the um second thing I

[1:18:48] wanted to like highlight for this

[1:18:50] evening and coming back in the closing

[1:18:53] is about the concept of valuing the

[1:18:57] richness of this community

[1:19:00] that um I'm really excited about

[1:19:03] participating in a district that really

[1:19:05] values that and try to incluse that

[1:19:07] intentionally in the curriculum and in

[1:19:09] the educational experiences of their

[1:19:11] students because of um you know locally

[1:19:15] rooted

[1:19:16] which is your curriculum and your spaces

[1:19:19] are kind of showing that and also

[1:19:21] globally ready which I this is kind of

[1:19:24] like the more in visioning part that

[1:19:26] would like to sell today that I think

[1:19:29] there's a lot of potential for Salem to

[1:19:32] u see itself as a place where students

[1:19:35] are developing that global competency

[1:19:38] um I circling back to what I'm saying I

[1:19:42] think that my my live experiences as a

[1:19:44] immigrant myself as someone that had to

[1:19:48] navigate the public school systems,

[1:19:50] someone that I feel if I were to be

[1:19:53] invited to be a superintendent to be I

[1:19:55] would be honored to be in a district

[1:19:57] that has taken the courage to name their

[1:20:00] new school uh after um Sarah Perk uh

[1:20:04] Parker Ramon um knowing the history and

[1:20:07] the influence that has in

[1:20:09] African-American history of the of the

[1:20:11] area

[1:20:13] and I think that um those elements but

[1:20:17] and understanding um my leadership style

[1:20:20] and the values that I will bring to the

[1:20:22] um district. Um and most importantly

[1:20:25] that I will be a guardian and um and uh

[1:20:32] someone that will strengthen our equity

[1:20:34] commitment but I mean the superendency

[1:20:37] as well. Um

[1:20:40] I

[1:20:42] I feel really fortunate to be here in

[1:20:44] front of you at this moment. I I

[1:20:47] appreciate the moments like in the uh

[1:20:50] community forum when um one of the

[1:20:53] community members actually stood up to

[1:20:55] the microphone, asked a question in

[1:20:58] Spanish in a public forum. I I want to

[1:21:01] be in a I I I want to be in a place

[1:21:05] where that is not uh an exception. It's

[1:21:08] actually the rule and Salem so far in my

[1:21:12] experience has shown evidence that you

[1:21:14] are that type of district. Um

[1:21:19] so thank you very much for the

[1:21:20] opportunity and I I would like to um to

[1:21:23] thank you all for um for for the

[1:21:28] friendship and the um hospitality that

[1:21:30] you have offered me and I and I would

[1:21:33] like to um wish you the best and I hope

[1:21:37] hopefully I will be part of that that

[1:21:39] journey moving forward. Thank you.

[1:21:42] » Thank you.

[1:21:46] That concludes the interview. Thank you,

[1:21:48] Dr. Allen, for joining us this evening.

[1:21:50] Is there a motion?

[1:21:53] » Motion to adjurnn.

[1:21:54] » Second.

[1:21:55] » Motion. Well, Shirley's not here. She

[1:21:57] can get it from the recording. Uh, under

[1:22:00] discussion, seeing none. All in favor?

[1:22:02] Any opposed? We're adjourned.

Salem School Committee Superintendent Candidate Interview - Dr. Jorge Allen - 7/7/2026

Transcript