VIEW | Salem High School Alumni Newsletter: April 2026

Some great things happened in Salem this winter that brought together Salem High School alumni from all corners:

• Firstly, underscoring the District’s progress and direction, the combined graduation rates of all three high schools at Salem Public Schools – New Liberty Innovation School, Salem Prep High School and Salem High School – increased by more than 4.7% from one year ago based on the statewide school graduation rates released by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) on Thursday, Mar. 5. Salem’s cumulative graduation rate jumped from 81.6% in 2023-24 to 86.3% in 2024-25. Salem High School’s graduation rate was 89.5% and New Liberty Innovation School’s graduation rate was 69.3%. Additionally, the District’s dropout rate – 1.7% – is the lowest figure since 2014-15 and exceeded the Strategic Plan’s goal of 2.0%. Over the last five years, the dropout rate has declined by a startling 67% (from 5.2% to 1.7%).

• Evelyn Oquendo ’82 had her No. 24 jersey retired on Friday, Jan. 24, for which teammates, family and friends flocked to the Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse for the ceremony. The event also coincided with the 1986 Salem State women’s basketball team’s national championship reunion on Jan. 25, on which Ms. Oquendo, Beth Kapnis ’82 and Holly Brennan ’82 were members.

• SHS Boys Basketball Coach Tom Doyle ’90, who won the 1990 state title as a player, has now won it as a coach. Mr. Doyle led the Witches to their first MIAA Division 3 State Championship since 1995 on Saturday, Mar. 14 with a 57-51 triumph over top-seeded Hanover. As detailed in a recent Salem News article by Matt Williams, SHS’s run to the title brought well wishes from many alumni, including state champions Rick Brunson ’90 (and son Jalen), Scoonie Penn ’96, and Jamaal Camah ’96, the Principal of New Liberty Innovation School.

We’ve also received many other updates noted in our Alumni News & Noteworthy section below. As always, we strongly encourage you to share your news with us at publicrelations@salemk12.org.

These are the stories of Salem High alumni. It’s a good day to be a witch.

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