Hello Dolphin Community,

At Monday night's School Committee meeting I had the privilege of attending the 2nd Annual presentation of the Community Partner Awards presented by our Pathways to Independence program at D-Y High School. Pathways to Independence is a post-secondary transition program focused on helping students further develop academic, social, vocational, and independent living skills. The awards ceremony recognizes community partners that make the programming possible. This year the Collaboration Award went to Taylor-Bray Farm; the Leadership Award went to Kathy Malkasian, Tina Andrade & Tammi Ostrom; The Impact Award went to Yarmouth Rotary and Freestyle Living. These awards and the partnerships that they represent are a wonderful example of our D-Y Core Values. Specifically, this exemplifies our value of Community and the statement that "We collaborate with all. Through learning and cooperation, we foster collective growth, creating a positive impact that reaches our school, families, staff, volunteers, and all corners of the Dennis-Yarmouth communities. We value our relationships in our community. We unite to seamlessly embed character into our culture. This integration spans every facet of school life, enabling students to learn and apply essential social, emotional, and behavioral skills."

Earlier this week, I also had the great honor of receiving a letter from the Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education for Massachusetts. The letter congratulated us for being one of only 55 districts in the state to lower their chronic absenteeism by at least 5% in the most recent reporting to the state (March) from the same time last year. In reviewing our district-wide data more closely this week, I noticed the following changes:

I know that we have sent a lot of messaging to you this year about the importance of ensuring that students are present in school. We have shared the direct connection between student attendance and their learning, their connection with school, and their long-term success. Thank you for all you have done to help with this significant improvement in student attendance. Let us continue this momentum for the remainder of the year and into next year!

Finally, I would like to update everyone on the school district budget for 2026-2027. The budget successfully passed Town Meetings in both towns including the requests for Proposition 2.5 overrides. Additionally, in the recent ballot votes, the overrides passed in Dennis 1080 (Yes) to 477 (no) and in Yarmouth 1905 (Yes) to 1848 (No). You can get information about the approved budget here.

Thank you for your ongoing support,

Marc J. Smith, Ed.D

Superintendent

Dear Dolphin Families,

The district has a new transportation request process for the 2026–2027 school year. Families must fill out a transportation form for each student to let us know if bus service is needed for next school year.

To make sure transportation is ready for the first day of school in September, forms must be turned in by June 25.

Forms turned in after June 25 may not be processed before school starts. Returning students who do not submit a form by the deadline will not automatically receive bus transportation. Families will need to submit a late request, which could cause a delay in service.

If you have any questions or need any assistance please reach out to your child's school.

Thank you for your attention to this important deadline.

DYRSD Operations Office

On April 15, I held my second listening session of the school year. The listening session in-person at the D-Y Library. Just like the last session, the topic of the conversation was, "Why D-Y? What are the opportunities students have as the progress through D-Y and how can we improve?" If you were unable to attend you can watch the listening session here.

If you would like to see the virtual listening session on the same topic, but with different participants from March, you can watch the listening session here.