Superintendent's Message
Marc J. Smith - Dennis-Yarmouth Regional Schools
Happy Break
Good Afternoon Dolphin Community,
Whenever you are new at something, every time you experience something for the first time there is often a bit of fun and exhilaration that comes with it. First School Committee meeting, first opening day with staff, first "first day" with students, etc. these all bring feelings of excitement and joy as a new teacher, again when you are a new principal, and again when you are a new superintendent. There is one thing that I have found that does not bring as much excitement... calling your first snow day 🙃. Well, at least it is behind us, and at least it did actually snow. As we head into vacation week next week, I hope that everyone is looking forward to a little extra time with family and that the students and staff will enjoy a little time to recharge and refresh before the strong academic push between the end of February through the beginning of April.
This feels like a good time to remind everyone of an earlier message surrounding the role of student attendance in supporting their success. As I mentioned in a previous communication, the state defines chronic absenteeism as missing 10% or more of school days. There is a lot of research to show that students who are chronically absent do not perform as well academically as their same aged peers who attend school more regularly. In addition to that research, last year in D-Y specifically, 24% of chronically absent students in ELA and 17% in math met the state's expectations for proficiency compared to 35% for ELA and 31% in math for students who attended school regularly in grades 3-8. For students in high school, 32% of chronically absent students in ELA and 25 % in math met the state's expectations for proficiency compared to 53% in ELA and 49% in math for students who attended school regularly. In short, chronic absence affected (negatively) students academic achievement here in D-Y. Please support us in helping get your children to school, it is a key component to their school success.
This month is Black History Month, and there are a wide variety of learning opportunities occurring across the district to help ensure D-Y students continue to develop a deep understanding and appreciation of African-Americans in our American culture. Today, I was fortunate enough to attend a student led presentation organized by the Voices Heard Club at the high school. These students did an amazing job of organizing a presentation that celebrated Black art, fashion, music, and dance while also pointing to some of the social justice issues that confront Black Americans historically and presently. Watching this all student-led presentation was a strong moment of pride as superintendent of this district.
Finally, as a reminder if you are unable to attend or watch any of our School Committee meetings regarding the budget, please know that we post all of our budget presentations along with the link to the meeting recording here.
Thank you and have a wonderful vacation week,
Marc
Community News
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