Salem School Committee Appoints Thomas Welch as Superintendent of Schools

Pending terms, Dr. Welch to begin as Superintendent in August, date to be determined

SALEM (July 15, 2026) – Dr. Thomas Welch was appointed as the Superintendent of Salem Public Schools Wednesday night at a special meeting of the Salem School Committee.

Pending the terms of a three-year contract, Dr. Welch will begin his role in August, the exact date yet to be determined.

“Salem was fortunate to have three incredibly strong finalists for this important role,” said Mayor Dominick Pangallo, chair of the School Committee. “I am incredibly optimistic about the future path for Salem Public Schools under Dr. Welch’s leadership. He brings the qualifications, the commitment to equity and academic excellence, and – above all – the values that will ensure that the positive trajectory of Salem’s schools will continue forward. 

“We have a strong foundation, with the best performing public school district among comparable cities in Massachusetts; but, there is always more to do,” Mayor Pangallo added. “I’m confident about the positive outcomes we can achieve moving forward with Dr. Welch as our Superintendent, and I’m excited to get to work making that happen, alongside him, our dedicated educators, my colleagues on the School Committee, and all in our community who care about our kids and our schools.”

Dr. Welch comes to Salem after serving as a Regional Superintendent with the Boston City Schools since 2015. 

“I am deeply humbled and honored to have earned the confidence of the Salem School Committee to serve as the next Superintendent of Salem Public Schools,” Dr. Welch said. “After more than 27 years as a teacher, principal, and regional superintendent, I am excited to help Salem build upon its strong foundation and move toward an even brighter future.

“This moment calls for collaborative, courageous, and student-centered leadership,” he added. “Academic growth will remain central to our work, but success must also mean creating schools where every student is known, valued, challenged, and supported. Together, we will bring to life Salem’s powerful motto: ‘Where Belonging Leads to Opportunity.’”

Among many duties at Boston Public Schools, Dr. Welch supervised a network of 15 schools serving more than 6,600 students across early education, elementary, middle, high, and alternative settings.

Additionally, he served as a member of the Superintendent’s Executive Cabinet which contributed to district-wide strategy, policy development, and implementation of system priorities; and supervised, coached, and evaluated principals to drive instructional improvement and equitable student outcomes across a regional portfolio of schools in East Boston, Charlestown, and the North End.

He also led the implementation of district initiatives aligned to equity, inclusion, and high-quality instruction, to ensure coherence across schools and alignment with district priorities and goals.

Simultaneously, Dr. Welch was an Academic Superintendent with the Alternative Education Network within Boston Public Schools, for which he led a district-wide network of 14 alternative education programs serving 1,200 students; and strengthened instructional coherence and program quality at each site through targeted leadership development and professional learning. 

Prior to arriving at Boston Public Schools, Dr. Welch was the founding principal of the Nava College Preparatory High School (2014-15) and the Julian Nava Learning Academy Middle School (2011-14) in the Los Angeles Unified School District. 

From 2008-11, he served as the Bilingual Coordinator, ESL Teacher and Instructional Leader after nine years as an elementary educator in grades 1-4 and instructional leader.

In June, Dr. Welch completed a year-long fellowship with The Broad Center at the Yale School of Management, an initiative geared toward improving K-12 public education by training and supporting transformational leaders in large urban school systems.

Dr. Welch holds multiple certifications and licenses, including Professional Superintendent/Assistant Superintendent License and Sheltered English Immersion – Administrator endorsement from Massachusetts, as well as several licenses from the state of California.

Dr. Welch received dual undergraduate degrees in economics and environmental science from Occidental College in 1998 and his master’s degree in education from UCLA in 2008. He went on to earn his doctorate in education from Boston College in 2020.

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.