Zrike reflects on work as superintendent as he prepares for education secretary
Posted on: March 5, 2026
By Michael McHugh | Staff Writer
As Steve Zrike prepares to step down later this month as superintendent of Salem Public Schools to become the next state education secretary, he plans to bring the same transformative work he’s shepherded along in Salem to the state level.
Zrike has served as superintendent since 2020, coming to the Witch City from Holyoke Public Schools where he served as Receiver/Superintendent. He also led the Wakefield schools and began his career as a fifth-grade teacher in Andover. In the past six years, he’s overseen dramatic changes in Salem, from navigating schools through the COVID-19 pandemic, to the early stages of securing support from the Massachusetts School Building Authority to build a new high school.
