Hello Dolphin Community,

Last night I had the privilege of attending the induction ceremony for the National Honor Societies for German, Spanish, and French. As I mentioned to the inductees last night, selection into these National Honor Societies is not only a celebration of their linguistic achievements but also a demonstration of Dennis-Yarmouth Regional School District’s core values. They have pursued Excellence through rigorous study fostering vital cognitive development in adolescents—specifically enhancing problem-solving and executive function—while the value of Dignity is honored through the deep respect shown for diverse cultures. Finally, they have embodied Integrity, as it takes courage to communicate in a new language living the "Dolphin Way" of authentic leadership and accountability, ultimately preparing these students to bridge global gaps with empathy and intellectual grit.

Last month, I had mentioned that I wanted to conducted some "Superintendent Listening Sessions." I had provided a brief survey to help understand what might be the best way to organize these meetings. I was looking to get a sense of both the preferred format and time of day for folks for this meeting. 64% of respondents were looking for a meeting in one of the district schools and 28% desired a virtual meeting. When looking at the time of day (which was a check all that apply option), a combined 72% selected during the school day (morning or afternoon) and a combined 81% picked after the school day. Based upon this information, I am going to be starting with two sessions, one virtual and one in-person. Both will cover the same topic. The virtual session will be Wednesday, March 25th from 4-5:30. A separate announcement will come out in about a week with the link to that meeting. The in-person meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 15th from 1-2:30 in the D-Y Middle School Library.

Finally, the School Committee voted to adopt the 2026-2027 operating budget on Monday, March 9th. They approved a budget of $83,748,973 with is a 4.233% increase over last year. After having met with both the Yarmouth and Dennis Select Boards this past week we know that this budget will require an override in both towns. In the coming weeks and months, I will be sharing more information on this process as well as the potential impact of an override not passing.

Thank you for your ongoing support,

Marc J. Smith, Ed.D.

Following our Snow-cation you may be wondering, "So now when is the last day of school?"

First, I want to point out that there is still more winter in front of us. The missed week of school following February School vacation week was very challenging in many ways, one of those has been the impact on our school calendar. I will be taking that into consideration as future weather events play out over the remainder of this winter.

That being said, so far we have had 6 days cancelled due to weather. The 180th day of school was, in the original school calendar, scheduled for June 16th. When you add the 6 days and account for the fact that school will be closed on the Juneteenth Holiday (6/19), that currently puts the last day of school as June 25th.

Let's hope that there is no more snow in the future.