Salem Launches Salem City Academy
Earlier this fall Mayor Kim Driscoll’s office launched a new program called Salem City Academy (SCA). SCA, being run in partnership with the House of the Seven Gables, provides an educational opportunity for Salem residents to visit municipal offices and learn how local government works. Program participants get the opportunity to see municipal government at work up close and meet one-on-one with department heads and other City staff.
Modeled on similar civic academies offered by the Salem Police Department and the Salem Fire Department, Salem City Academy is intended to increase civic participation and engagement among residents who may not normally access local government or who wish to better understand how City Hall functions.
To that end, the first SCA class is intentionally providing an opportunity for students of a local ESL (English as a second language) class from the House of the Seven Gables to connect with and learn about City departments. The first three Salem City Academy participants – Juana Canela, Keysi De los Santos, and Martha Caro - recently met with Mayor Driscoll and City Council President Patti Morsillo on their first night of the program.
“The City has long made efforts to include our community’s Spanish speakers and immigrants,” said Constituent Services Director Julio Mota, who oversees the SCA. “This program is adding to that work by being deliberate about bringing more people from those communities into the fold. This first session has been fantastic. Our participants have been so enthusiastic and are eager to learn more.”
“This was a magnificent idea, getting to be so close to the city and mayor's office,” said Juana Canela, one of the first session participants and a Salem resident and longtime employee of the Dominican Republic. “More so for us who are arriving here from all over the world. Here is where we're building our lives, working, getting into local culture. They've offered their services, which we deserve to know about and are very, very grateful."
“Salem City Academy is designed to help residents, especially new residents and those who come from historically underserved communities, connect to and understand their local government,” added Dominick Pangallo, Chief of Staff in the Mayor’s Office. “Working with the House of the Seven Gables and with City departments, we’re striving to better connect these residents with their municipal government, so they’re able to access all of the services, programs, and information that we provide.”
“We work hard and intentionally to open doors to City Hall for everyone in our community,” said Mayor Driscoll. “Salem City Academy is another measure in that ongoing effort to improve transparency, accessibility, and equity in the delivery of City services and the operation of Salem’s local government. I’m grateful to Julio Mota for his leadership in getting this new program underway and to our partners at the House of the Seven Gables for their collaboration in making this possible.”
Through October, SCA participants will meet with several City departments, including visits to the Department of Public Services, Park & Recreation, Planning Department, Building Inspectors, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Engineering, Traffic and Parking, and more. If you are interested in applying for a future session of SCA, please reach out to the Mayor’s Office at (978) 619-5601 or jmota@salem.com. Applications for future sessions will be available at www.salemma.gov/mayor as they are scheduled.