'Educational Malpractice': Saltonstall Middle School Grades Closure Pushed

SALEM, MA — Salem School Superintendent Steve Zrike said his pending push to shift grades 6 through 8 at Saltonstall School to Collins Middle School as soon as next fall is designed to provide a more equitable and beneficial educational experience for all middle school students compared to the current two-campus model.

With a student population of 140 students in grades 6 through 8 in the K-8 Saltonstall School, Zrike said it is difficult to provide the same type of student and staff opportunities there compared to Collins Middle School, which has about 600 students all in middle school grades. He told the School Committee that rates of attrition, discipline and absenteeism are all higher in recent years at Saltonstall than Collins.

"This is not a financial decision or recommendation," Zrike said. "This is purely about what we see right now. What I see, what other folks on my team see, as being in the best interest of students. This has nothing to do with any budget deficit. This has nothing to do with the future grade configurations in the Salem Public Schools.

"This is right now. And, honestly, I think it's educational malpractice not to make a decision that supports who I think are our most vulnerable kids in the system — our middle school students — right now."

• Salem Superintendent Looks To Shift Middle School Out Of Saltonstall

Zrike said that while Saltonstall students are able to participate in the more expansive programs at Collins, logistics often make it difficult for them to do so, and that results in fewer learning experiences and strained social interactions when transitioning to Salem High School.

"It's nearly impossible to offer the full middle school experience having only two classes per grade," he said. "We are very lucky in Salem to offer a lot of programs at the middle and high school level that a lot of other districts don't have. It's hard for us to replicate those same things on two different (middle school) campuses. ... I think, in some ways, we were overinvesting (at Saltonstall) because it was so small but we wanted to have at least some of the things that Collins was having."

School Committee members pushed back and Zrike's timeline to have a vote on the two proposed closure plans — one to do so all starting next fall, and the other in a phased way that allows students currently in middle school grades at Saltonstall to finish there through eighth grade, if they wish — by Nov. 4.

"I feel rushed," School Committee member Mary Manning said. "I understand that we want to get the decision made and do what we need to do depending on how the vote comes out. But I don't want to do that without enough discussion and enough time and opportunities for us as a committee to talk, and share some ideas, and explore some ideas."

School Committee member Veronica Miranda said she was concerned about the students making the transition from a smaller school environment to a larger school experiencing "paralyzing anxiety" and said that the grade exodus and other proposed changes at Saltonstall amount to "basically closing the school to some extent."

Zrike said it was important to come to a decision on the future of the grades at Saltonstall sooner than later to help ensure a strong ending to the school year at Saltonstall for students and staff, and to give parents enough time to make decisions about their students' futures.

"This year can't be a lost year," Zrike said.

He said Collins School, which once housed more than 1,300 students, has plenty of room to absorb the Saltonstall student body and that professional staff affected would be offered positions either at Collins or elsewhere in the district.

School Committee member Beth Anne Cornell said she had long been concerned that Saltonstall used to be an example of inequity in the district because its student population was more affluent and not representative of the full student body, while Manning noted that the school was a K-5 school from 1994 through 2007, and would thus be going back to that model if the change is approved.

A Committee of the Whole meeting to further discuss the grade shift was set for Nov. 4 on Monday night with a proposed vote on making the change set for Nov. 18.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)