Incoming Salem Superintendent Addresses Holyoke Teacher Turnover

SALEM, MA — The night before Dr. Stephen Zrike met with Salem residents earlier this month as one of four finalists to become the city's next school superintendent, residents and former teachers in Holyoke raised concerns about his tenure as the head of that city's public school districts.

During the Feb. 4 Holyoke City Council meeting, one current teacher, three former teachers and three residents used the meeting's public comment period to discuss morale problems in the school district since the state took it over five years ago. None of the speakers mentioned Zrike by name, but all of them spoke of the five-year period he has headed the school district as the state-appointed receiver.

"We need to find out why the teachers are leaving. We need to find out why the students are leaving," Holyoke resident Doug Arnold said during the public comment period of the Feb. 4 Holyoke City Council meeting. "And we need to find out when receivership will end, if ever."

Arnold's said 425 Holyoke kids have opted to attend schools in neighboring communities since the school district was placed under state control for poor performance, and that more than 600 teachers have left the system since he took over.

Zrike said the enrollment declines Arnold mentioned had stabilized. While enrollment declined by 500 students between 2010 and 2015, there were only 15 fewer students on Oct. 1, 2019 than there were on Oct. 1, 2015. He said the teacher turnover is consistent with other school systems that have entered receivership.

"We implemented a longer school day for teachers and students, longer school year for educators, opened two new middle schools, shifted grade configurations in three other schools and merged our two high school campuses," Zrike said in an email. "These factors have contributed to a high rate of staff turnover, similar to schools and districts with similar profiles."

Zrike announced in December, before he was named a finalist for the Salem position, he would step down from his position at the end of the current school year. Before being appointed to his current position in June 2015, Zrike was superintendent in Wakefield.

Under his leadership, the Holyoke High School curriculum has been redesigned, leading to a 1o-percent rise in graduation rates to 72.2 percent. The drop out rate has declined by nearly half to 3.6 percent. Across the system, there have been some improvements in standardized test scores, although in other areas test scores remain flat with pre-receivership levels.

"Nearly a decade ago, almost 10 percent of our high school students dropped out of school and less than 50 percent of high school students graduated from high school," Zrike said. "While the improvement is significant, we cannot be satisfied until all of our students graduate from high school truly prepared to excel in higher education or a career path of their choice."

But Mary Meuse, a former high school teacher who retired in 2018, said at the Holyoke City Council meeting students "realized there would be no consequences" after receivership and the school system saw an increase in truancy and behavior problems during the same time graduation rates were increasing.

"We cannot see how the increase in graduation rates could be due to an increase in performance," Meuse said.

Zrike disputed Meuse's claim, noting that chronic absenteeism declined to 32.7 percent from 38.9 percent in 2014 and that the school suspension rate declined to 11 percent from 29 percent during the same time frame.

Note: This story was updated on Feb. 19 to include additional comment and clarification from Zrike.