City Connects in Salem Public Schools

The City Connects model
Every student, every teacher, every year

City Connects is an evidence-based system that utilizes the existing structures present in schools and communities. A City Connects Coordinator meets with each classroom teacher and other school staff to review every student in a school every year, discussing each child’s strengths and needs in the areas of academics, social/emotional/behavioral growth, health, and family. Each student is then linked to the unique set of services and enrichments, available in the school or community, that address his or her unique strengths and areas of need. The Coordinator cultivates partnerships with community agencies, serving as a point of contact for the school. Coordinators collaborate closely with families and facilitate access to supports and enrichments.

The story of our partnership

City Connects launched in Salem Public Schools in the fall of 2017 in collaboration with the Education Redesign Lab at Harvard University and its Children’s Cabinet in the city of Salem. As we continue in our fifth year of partnership, City Connects has entered a stable and sustained phase of implementation. City Connects serves children and families in Salem preschool, elementary, and middle school settings, and has built deep connections in the Salem community. In the first year of implementing our systemic practice in schools, Coordinators established partnerships with over 100 local community agencies. By the spring of 2020, the number of community partners providing supports and services to students had grown to 193. Salem’s diverse community partners have been critical to our success supporting students. When surveyed in the spring of 2020, community partners reported especially high levels of satisfaction with City Connects: 100% think that City Connects is effective at identifying the needs of the students they work with and at matching students to their services.

Salem Public School City Connects Coordinators

SchoolCoordinatorContact Info
Director of Multitiered Systems of SupportMia Ricciomriccio@salemk12.org
Cell: 978-522-0124
Early ChildhoodErika Griffinegriffin@salemk12.org
978-740-1181
Cell: 978-587-4943
Bentley AcademyGenevieve Nuttgnutt@salemk12.org
Cell: 781-732-0154
Bates ElementarySari Rudolphsrudolph@salemk12.org
978-740-1250
Cell: 978-778-8423
Carlton Innovation SchoolLiz Yodereyoder@salemk12.org
978-740-1280
Cell: 978-778-0069
Horace Mann Laboratory SchoolElizabeth Planjeeplanje@salemk12.org
978-740-1290
Cell: 978-778-5134
Witchcraft Heights Elementary SchoolHeather Perryhperry@salemk12.org
978-740-1271
Cell: 978-288-9110
Saltonstall SchoolJoy Richmond SmithJrichmond-smith@salemk12.org
978-740-1297
Cell: 978-778-5429
Collins Middle SchoolJohanna Rodriguez

Christina Sakelakos
jrodriguez@salemk12.org
Cell: 781-771-0660

cSakelakos@salemk12.org
Cell: 781-771-5316