Salem Public Schools
SPS community,
Earlier this week, the City of Salem and UpTogether announced the launch of UpliftSalem, a pilot program that invests $500 per month in 100 Salem residents for one year, geared toward helping families ascend out of poverty. The program is being overseen by two Salem State faculty members – Dr. Thomas Pineros Shields, from the Department of Politics, Policy and International Relations, and Dr. Sara Moore of the Sociology Department – with the hope of garnering more state and federal support for these types of programs.
Salem has its share of poverty, which is particularly felt around the approaching holidays and the colder months. Therefore, we encourage any Salem family who meet the criteria and could use this additional income to apply for this program.
Applications can be found on the City of Salem website beginning Monday, Oct. 28 and will remain open for two weeks or until 350 eligible applications have been received. Other requirements include:
Eligible participants must reside in Salem, Mass., which includes unhoused residents who spend the majority of their time in Salem.
Residents must have household or family incomes at or below 100% of the federal poverty level based on household size.
Residents will be randomly selected from eligible applications, with members receiving their first payments by Sunday, Dec. 1.
I’ve included links below to more information and a series of frequently asked questions.
Frequently Asked Questions (ENG)
Frequently Asked Questions (ESP)
Enjoy the weekend,
Steve
Ms. Maietta's dedication to creating a safe, supportive, and inclusive space ensures that every child feels valued and supported. Her hard work is making a meaningful impact on these young learners, setting them up for success from the very start!
Ensuring the safety of our school community is a top priority for our dedicated school nurses, and a key aspect of this responsibility involves monitoring student immunization records. In the past few weeks, parents and guardians of students with outdated immunizations have received letters from their school nurse, detailing which vaccines are missing from their child's school health record. The letter will kindly request that updated records be promptly provided to the school nurse.
It's crucial to note that students with records still out of date in the new year may face the possibility of exclusion from school. If you receive a letter from your school nurse, we urge you to call them without delay. Sharing your plans for updating your child's records is essential for maintaining a safe and healthy learning environment for all. Students whose records are not up to date are at risk for exclusion from school. Your prompt attention to this matter is greatly appreciated.
The October edition of the SPS Nursing News is here!
- Vision and hearing screenings
- Food allergy safety
- Halloween health tips
Get the latest health office updates from our school nurses, including important tips on health and safety. Plus, we’re sharing some spooky and fun family-friendly ways to enjoy Halloween in Salem. Don't miss out on this month's essential info to get into the spooky spirit!
October is bullying prevention month. In Salem Public Schools, however, bullying prevention is everyday work. SPS is committed to providing all students and staff with a safe, healthy, and welcoming learning environment; and committed to ensuring its students experience equitable educational opportunities free from bullying, harassment, discrimination, prejudice and hate crimes. All community members are expected to treat each other with respect and appreciate the different and richly diverse personal qualities and skills of members of our school community.
Our Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan includes ensuring both staff and students are trained yearly in identifying the signs of bullying and how to effectively intervene. Students are taught how to be allies and “upstanders” when something occurs, and how to report potential bullying when the issue arises.
Frequently, we find that the term “bullying” becomes a term used for any and all social difficulties. Social challenges, unfortunately, are not always black and white, so it can be confusing for a student and family in need of support, when they are told that their situation does meet the criteria for bullying.
Here are some important things we want all families to know:
Just because there is a difficult social challenge, it does not automatically mean there is bullying present.
This does not mean that this particular situation is not very important to us.
Discernment is a huge piece of the puzzle.
Parents can partner with us in recognizing that immediately naming something as "bullying," could actually get in the way of a young person’s ability to engage in healthy perspective taking, empathy, problem solving and personal accountability. This article offers ways that adults can help students know the difference between social conflict and bullying.
Edutopia: Not All Conflict is Bullying: Teaching Students the Difference
No matter what, social challenges AND bullying are things that we care deeply about. Please reach out to the support providers in your school and ask for help.
We can do this work together!
Discriminatory harassment and bullying are prohibited in Massachusetts schools. We must all work together to stand up against all forms of hate, bias, and prejudice. Below are links to guides for families:
Combatting Hate in Our Schools: English | Spanish
Q&A: Addressing Hate and Bias in Our Schools: English | Spanish
Salem Youth Football and Cheer will host an open house at the Jean A. Levesque Community Life Center Monday, Oct. 21 (6:00-8:00 p.m.) for families of athletes aged 6-14 and grades 1-8 interested in joining in 2025.
For more information, contact SYFC at:
- E-mail: salemyouthfootball@yahoo.com
- Phone: (781) 228-8920
- View Website
For the 14th year, the Salem Education Foundation has launched its Dinner Anywhere in the World Raffle, which includes dinner, hotel, and two roundtrip airplane tickets to anywhere in the world. Tickets are sold through the school PTOs, SEF board members, volunteers, restaurants, parents, and students.
Students have incentives if they sell tickets:
- The student who sells the winning ticket earns $500 cash.
- The school that sells the most tickets will be the first positioned school in the next Haunted Happenings parade.
- PTO’s earn $1 for every ticket they sell after exceeding 100 tickets
An anonymous donor who bought a ticket for each and every school teacher, custodian, and cafeteria worker in SPS will be automatically entered.
Checks can be made payable to the Salem Education Foundation. For any questions regarding the raffle or ticket sales please contact Ben Arlander at BenArlander@gmail.com.
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.