Salem Public Schools Receives $30,000 Gift to Support Educator Development
Gift to fund Artificial Intelligence initiatives, professional development
SALEM (Jan. 29, 2026) – Committed to the core value of empowering our educators, the Norman H. Read Trust donated $30,000 to Salem Public Schools to fund professional development opportunities, including the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in K-12 education, the District announced Thursday.
Specifically, part of the gift will fund the following initiatives:
- Stipends for educators to participate in an Instructional Technology Task Force to develop guidance and tools around AI.
- Stipends to pay educators to attend monthly after-school professional development workshops on the use of AI in the classroom.
- Funds to pay for members of the District’s Instructional Technology team to attend the Consortium for School Networking (COSN) Conference (Apr. 13-15 in Chicago) to build their capacity around AI
The majority of these funds were put toward supporting requests from Salem educators to attend conferences, courses and workshops of their choosing. Prior to the holidays, educators and staff were encouraged to make requests to attend sessions that would advance their professional growth and align to the district’s priorities. We received 21 applications all of which were funded. Through the remainder of the school year and throughout the summer, SPS staff will attend the following workshops and conferences:
Courses
- Written Expression: Scaffolded Strategies for Beginning Writers
- Teaching Writing Skills to Students to English Language Learners and Multilingual Learners
- The Writing Revolution Training: The Hochman Method
- Membership to BrightMorning Professional Development Library
- CPR Instructor Certification Course
Conferences
- New England School Nurse Conference
- Massachusetts School Counselors Association (MSCA) Spring Conference
- National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) Convention
- Equity Imperative Bend the Arc Conference
- National Council of Teachers in Mathematics (NCTM) Conference Rhythm, Roots, & Reasoning: Cultivating Joie de Vivre in Mathematics
- Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) International Convention and Expo
- Massachusetts Reading Association Conference
- California Association for Bilingual Education (CABE) Conference
- Massachusetts Association of Occupational Therapy (MAOT) Spring Conference
“We were thrilled to be able to leverage these funds to support our staff in a way that directly aligns to our strategic plan’s core priority of empowering educators,” said Deputy Superintendent Kate Carbone. “We are extremely grateful to the Norman H. Read Trust for its commitment to our schools and for funding these amazing professional development opportunities for our educators.”
About Salem Public Schools
Salem Public Schools is an urban public school district in Salem, Massachusetts, a small, diverse city with a proud maritime and immigrant history. Our leaders and our teachers are passionate about education and understand the urgency of improving student achievement with equity and social-emotional needs as the lens through which we view our work. We respect and value the racial, cultural, and linguistic diversity of our students and their families, and have a strong commitment to the Salem community. Salem Public Schools staff unconditionally serves each of our 4,000 students across 11 schools regardless of ability or language.
