Salem Superintendent: 'We Want Kids Back In School'

SALEM, MA — While Salem Public Schools will open remotely for most students next week, Superintendent of Schools Stephen Zrike said the goal once that happens will be to get them back in the classroom for in-person learning as soon as possible.

"That will be No. 1 on our agenda after we open schools on Monday," Zrike said in a remote meeting with parents and the school community. "We want the kids back in school."

Zrike said he has been encouraged by the recent gains the city has made in lowering its coronavirus test-positive rate and is hopeful that trend — which continued when the rate in the city fell to 1.2 percent in the 14-day rolling average as of Wednesday — will allow the city to move toward in-classroom learning sooner rather than later in the fall.

"Of course we want the kids back — especially our younger learners," Zrike said.

He also praised the decision on Tuesday to allow Salem athletes to play certain "low risk" and "moderate risk" interscholastic sports this fall after Northeastern Conference superintendents had voted two weeks ago to delay them until possibly February.

"I am really excited for our kids," he said. "They have lost so much. The opportunity or them to play is essential."

Salem is starting the year with a remote model for all but a small number of priority classrooms for students who would have the hardest time starting school virtually. Zrike said the plan is to get schools open remotely next week — Monday for grades 1 through 12 and Wednesday for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten — and then learn from the experiences of having a small number of students in the buildings to work toward bringing back more grades.

Salem Public Schools has set up a hotline for anyone with questions about the return to school at 978-740-1225 with Zrike saying that the schools are prepared to provide technical assistance to anyone needing it during remote learning.

"We are well prepared for the school year," Salem Public Schools Chief of Public Relations Liz Polay-Wettengel told Patch on Thursday. "Our educators have been working hard preparing their class schedules and participating in professional development that has been focused on what this new normal looks like ... from digital learning platforms to health and safety needs. We are looking forward to getting started."

Zrike said this school year is starting amid the "dueling pandemics" of coronavirus and racial strife, but that the challenges are "an opportunity to think differently."

"In the end, we will come out stronger as a system from it," he said. "Whether you are going to school in-person or remotely you are getting the same education."

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