Superintendent's Message
Marc J. Smith - Dennis-Yarmouth Regional Schools
Progress Check
Hello Dolphin Community,
It is hard to believe that we are already six weeks into the school year. For families with middle and high school aged students, this is a great time to check in on your student's assignments and grades using the new Powerschool parent portal. If you have not yet had a chance to set up your Powerschool parent portal, follow this link for directions about how to set up your parent portal account. This week also marks the time for parent conferences, which are a great time to continue to foster the strong home to school relationships that support the success of students. Families play an important role in student success and we look forward to working with you in that shared goal.
Additionally, schools have been finishing their assessments of students. These assessments, including NWEA MAP Growth, F & P BAS, Early Literacy Screening, and other key assessments provide teachers and schools with important information to help them provide high-quality instruction for each student in the district. Conferences provide an opportunity for teachers to share some of this assessment information with families, and to plan collaboratively on how to best ensure student growth.
The first month or so of school has also provided an opportunity for our schools to practice some of our safety drills. Safety drills are an important part of ensuring a safe and secure learning environment for all students and staff in D-Y. In partnership with our colleagues from public safety, we debrief our safety drills with staff and students (in grades 4-12) so that we can continually improve. When debriefing, we utilize some key questions in the process. Those questions are: What went well? What could have gone better? Did your training adequately prepare you for what happened today? What would you have done differently in this room? Do you feel more secure after this experience?
On an unrelated note, I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone that contributed to the clothing drive over the past few weeks. The response has been remarkable! Carolina has been updating me regularly, and the community support that has rallied around this particular humanitarian need is very heartwarming. Also, Carolina noted that she would not have been able to make this happen if not for the help of many others. Through many text messages (so I may miss someone, I apologize), she noted that Jean, Sue, Meaghan, Kevin, Tanya, Kaytlyn, Joyce, Denise, Bob, and her husband all played key roles in making the clothing drive successful.
Finally, some may have noted that Governor Healey's office just released some updated information regarding the Emergency Assistance Shelter program in the state. In short, the Governor's office stated that the system is reaching capacity and the state will need to shift it's strategy. For anyone looking for more information related to this topic, the state sent superintendent's this Frequently Asked Questions document that may provide some answers to your questions. As previously stated, our focus as a school district remains on the education of students and will continue as such.
Thank you and have a wonderful rest of the week.
All the best,
Marc J. Smith, Ed. D.
Superintendent