New SRMS Leader Hits the Ground Running

Though he said he spent his first seven days at Scotts Ridge Middle School "doing a lot of reading" and trying to acclimate to the school, new principal Tim Salem already looked, on that seventh day, like he belonged there.

Which is not an easy thing to do after leaving an 18-year career at Danbury High School as a social studies teacher and Assistant Principal.

Though most of Salem's professional life has been rooted in Danbury, he was already familiar with the Ridgefield schools and its students before the past seven days, mostly through an exchange program between DHS and Ridgefield High School in which students get together for a two-day workshop aimed at breaking down stereotypes through team-building activities.

What students from the different schools ended up realizing "is there is a lot of similarity between their goals and expectations for themselves," and they end up forming lasting friendships, Salem said.

Though he said it was difficult to leave a place so familiar—he even graduated from Danbury High—Salem was ready to take on new challenges.

"I hit a point where I was looking for something different," said Salem. Change began with his involvement in the ninth grade restructuring project he led at Danbury High School which allowed him the opportunity to delve into the world of middle school students and curriculum.

Having never taught in a middle school has not precluded Salem from working with that age group; Salem spent a year working at Green Chimneys in Brewster, NY with middle school-aged students, and he has also run a basketball camp in Danbury for 15 years attended mostly by middle schoolers.

These experiences have led Salem to believe that the biggest challenge for middle school students is in the transitions, namely from elementary school to middle school and then at the end of eighth grade making sure "the students are ready on their way out."

"Overall I am pretty well prepared in understanding the role of the student in pre-adolescence," he said.

He's bringing that preparation to a school where he immediately felt impressed when he visited. Former principal Marie Doyon took Salem on a tour and within the first 10 minutes of his arrival, Salem appeared on the school's daily "Morning Show." It was a great way to meet some of the students, he said.

And he looks forward to meeting even more students and their parents.

"The worst thing in the world is to hide out in your office and not be seen," he said.

But Salem plans on being seen a lot, both in the morning to greet the students and in the afternoon to bid them farewell.

And while they're in the school in the middle of his greeting and send-off, Salem said he hopes to continue the message he tried to impart to Danbury students: that there is a whole world out there.

With a background in multicultural education and having taught multicultural issues electives at DHS, Salem does not want to necessarily bring an agenda with him and force his background on the Ridgefield community, whose student body is less diverse than in Danbury.

"Just because it was something that worked in Danbury High School doesn't mean it will work here," he said. "The best thing for me to do is to learn. There are already great things happening in Ridgefield."

If there is an interest, he said he will be happy to work with staff members to help implement any of his past programs or collaborate on new ideas.

But right now, Salem is trying to learn as much as he can before opening day.

Salem's plans for the first day of school include "a lot of smiling, saying hello, standing in the foyer and greeting people and meeting with each grade level."

Though he is not sure if there will be any surprise activities, he replied with a smile, "but you never know."