By Michael McHugh, Staff Writer
Link to full article.
SALEM — LEAP for Education Executive Director Linda Saris will retire as executive director this June, some 24 years after founding the organization which has gone on to help thousands of North Shore students pursue college and career opportunities. Starting in 2002 as “Salem Cyberspace,” a summer program serving just seven students, the organization has since grown to serve around 550 youth annually and focus on individual needs.
After receiving her MBA in finance and accounting, Saris spent the first 25 years of her life in the corporate world, but was interested in starting her own nonprofit to work with older youth as she felt there was a gap in academic, college, and career preparation programs for teenagers. This passion for helping youth to navigate career pathways came from a longtime belief in making academia and workforce development a more equitable experience.
“I grew up in the 60s, which I saw as a very affirming decade with the Vietnam War protests, the feminist movement, and the civil rights movement, giving me this idea that we as the people had the power to change things,” Saris said. “And I had this sense that the system was not a level playing field. Those that were born into family that had resources had better chance of getting ahead than those who didn’t”.
Attending Girls’ Latin School in Dorchester, which had meritocracy enrollment based on testing, Saris grew up in a melting pot where students from varying backgrounds all shared a common drive for education. It was this experience that further reinforced her belief in access to resources being the main factor in a student’s achievement.
“It was like an affirmation that if you give kids the opportunity and access to educational resources, then they’ll do well,” Saris said. “So I wanted to work with teens who were coming from low income families and underserved communities. I firmly believe that every kid has a talent, even if they don’t know it or haven’t recognized it themselves. Every kid has the potential to be successful”.
Initially starting under North Shore Community Action Programs (NSCAP), LEAP, then called Salem Cyberspace, originally started as a program for youth and adults primarily to teach computer skills, as well as provide homework help and academic enrichment. As the children in these programs started to enter high school, the program naturally shifted toward college access work. Expanding into Peabody and Gloucester, providing ESL and literacy support for the North Shore’s growing immigrant community, and finally separating from NSCAP in 2015, Salem Cyberspace transitioned into its own 501c3 nonprofit and was renamed LEAP for Education.
Over the years, LEAP has served students across several North Shore communities. In recent years, the organization strategically focused its work in Salem and Lynn, deepening partnerships with school districts and community organizations to strengthen long-term impact. Saris said that the success of LEAP in supporting youth with academic, career, and post-secondary support has come from the organization’s adaptability, with a college enrollment rate in Salem of 90% and graduation rate just under 70% — far above state averages for low-income students.
“My staff and I volunteer our time on many different community boards and task forces, keeping our eyes open on what’s changing,” Saris said. “When we saw a big increase in immigrant students, we immediately added an ESL program. When we saw a digital divide, we made sure our kids had computer literacy skills. We also try to teach each student as an individual, trying not to one-size-fits-all our approach. As we’ve gotten bigger, it’s become more of a challenge, but we really try to be there for students on an individual level and not have every kid follow the same pathway”.
The organization continued to grow — focusing more broadly on workforce development, providing financial literacy training, courses on healthy relationships, and developing a college advising team that would stay with students all the way through college.
State Rep. Manny Cruz, a LEAP alumnus and Salem School Committee member, said that Saris and LEAP played a pivotal role in his journey to becoming an elected official.