The mission of the Yarmouth Schools is to empower all students. It is our intent to meet this mission abiding by our core values - including empathy, equity, and respect.

In the fall of 2023, the Yarmouth School Committee amended Policy BDE - Standing Committees, creating a Mission Committee with the stated purpose being to:

1.      Encourage and support school staff in developing and implementing programming, curriculum, and instruction that further the School Department’s mission of empowering all students to lead fulfilling lives in a changing world.

2.      Promote an inclusive environment where all students may thrive;

3.      Identify systemic inequities that impact educational spaces;

4.      Propose recommendations to address all forms of institutional bias in the Yarmouth Schools pertaining to race, religion, country of origin, gender or gender identity, age, sexual orientation, disability, socio-economic status, or any other protected category or identity.  

The School Committee members who will serve as voting members of the Mission Committee include: 

• Christina Patrick (also a Yarmouth Elementary and Harrison Middle School Parent)

• Jes Garrou (also a Yarmouth High School Parent)

• Kellie Hall (also a Harrison Middle School and YES and YHS) Parent

Non-voting members include:

• Michael Wilbur (also a Harrison Middle School Parent), School Committee Chairperson (ex-officio)

• Andrew Dolloff, Superintendent (ex-officio)

The Mission Committee is also served by a school- and community-based Advisory Panel.

Staff who will serve on the Advisory Panel include:

Shanna Crofton, Director of Teaching & Learning (also a Yarmouth Elementary and Rowe School Parent)

Dr. Patrick Hartnett, Yarmouth High School Principal

Mandy Lewis, Frank H. Harrison Middle School Principal (also a Yarmouth Elementary School Parent)

Parent representatives will include:

• Jeff Chandler, Rowe School Parent

• Taylor Kanzler, Yarmouth Elementary School Parent

• Sheila Carroll, Harrison Middle School Parent

• Crispin Bolese, Yarmouth High School (and Harrison Middle School) Parent

Yarmouth High School's student representative will be:

• Maya Faulstich, Class of 2025

• Miriam Pardales, Class of 2026

Harrison Middle School's student representatives will be:

• Eitan Sammon, Class of 2029

• Alexis Ting, Class of 2030

The Mission Committee will meet in the Alumni Room at Yarmouth High School from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on the following dates:

September 26, 2024 (Minutes)

October 24, 2024 (Minutes)

November 14, 2024 (Agenda)

December 12, 2024

January 9, 2025

February 13, 2025

March 13, 2025

April 10, 2025

May 8, 2025

2023-2024 meeting minutes:

January 11, 2024 (Minutes)

February 8, 2024 (Minutes)

March 14, 2024 (Minutes)

April 11, 2024 (Minutes)

May 9, 2024 (Minutes)

Yarmouth Schools engaged the services of SchoolWorks to conduct an independent Equity Review of the organization's policies, practices, protocols, climate, and culture. You may read a summary of the report here, and the entire report is linked here.

The District Leadership Team is charged with creating plans to respond to the gaps identified through the Equity Review process. Linked here is an evolving draft document that will guide the district's work in this area.

For several years, YSD leadership and staff have been focused on ensuring school programming and practices are equitable for all students. This webpage summarizes some of the work that has been taking place during that time.

FALL 2019

The Yarmouth School Committee, upon recommendation of the school administration, identified increasing intercultural competence as one of the district's priority areas.

JUNE 2020 - Equity Task Force

The Yarmouth School Committee approved the formation of the Equity Task Force, comprised of more than twenty members of the school community and identified four general areas on which to focus:

• Student Leadership

• Family Engagement

• Academics and Programming

• Policies and Protocols

FALL 2021

To clarify the intent of our efforts, the District Leadership Team composed a position statement that was shared with the School Committee on September 23, 2021.

FALL 2023 - Mission Committee

In the fall of 2023, the School Committee transitioned the Equity Task Force to the district-level Mission Committee, ensuring that the work of ensuring equity for all students is addressed at the highest levels of the organization.