With the announcement that Dr. Dolloff will be retiring at the end of the 2025-2026 school year, the search for a new superintendent of schools has begun.

On Thursday, November 6, the Yarmouth School Committee appointed members to the Superintendent Search Committee, with representation from a variety of constituents throughout the district, including:

School Committee members (4): Christina Patrick, Anne Fleming, Kellie Hall, Michael Wilbur

YSD Administrators (3): Ryan Gleason, Tom McDowell, Kelli Rogers

YSD Staff members (3): Rick Biskup, Meghan Haugevik, Erica Troy

Community members (2): Benjamin Mann, Kate Shub

Amazingly, every member of the Search Committee either has or has had children who attend the Yarmouth Schools, so staff and parent voice will be well-represented on the team.

On Thursday, December 11, the School Committee approved ZEAL Education Group as the executive search firm to guide the team through the search process, which will include opportunities for community input, widespread posting of the opening, and a variety of activities to match qualified candidates with the district's leadership preferences.

The specific activities of the search process will be defined after ZEAL and the Search Committee have the opportunity to meet in January, and we will share those details in the coming months. Stay tuned!

Sabina Petrucci and Antonio Velazquez

Congratulations to Sabina Petrucci and Antonio Velazquez for being named National Merit Semi-Finalists. From over 1.3 million students who took the PSAT last fall, they join 16,000 other students representing the highest 1% of earned scores. They’ll now proceed to be considered for finalist consideration, which will cut the field in half again before National Merit Scholarships are presented totaling $26 million next spring.

The first week in December provided several examples of community members joining students at Frank H. Harrison Middle School to enhance their learning.  Local legal professionals joined 8th grade Social Studies classrooms to discuss the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights; 7th graders engaged in a Vector Lab led by a local medical professional as part of Maine Bioscience Day; and 6th graders engaged in a study of the percentage of water on earth by partnering with a Soil and Water Conservation educator.    

Eighth graders speak with a a local attorney about the Bill of Rights.

Seventh graders participate in a biodiversity lab facilitated by scientists from Maine-based bioscience companies.

YES Students and staff celebrating their recognition from Special Olympics

YES has been officially named a Special Olympics Unified Champion School for the 2024–2026 school years! The Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools program is aimed at promoting social inclusion through intentionally planned and implemented activities affecting systems-wide change.

This recognition celebrates our commitment to inclusion and reminds us that every student belongs and matters in our community. A heartfelt thank you to Mrs. Phelps for her leadership in expanding our Unified programs. Our partnership with Special Olympics continues to inspire us and enrich the lives of our students each day.

Just in time for the snowfall, installers completed the construction of the newly renovated playground at the William H. Rowe School. Students are enjoying the expanded climbing, swinging, and sliding structures, which also provide greater accessibility for all students. The playground will be further enhanced by a $35,000 grant from the Yarmouth Education Foundation, which will allow us to add a "loose parts play" component from Kaplan, along with a storage unit constructed by students (including YHS students) at Portland Arts and Technology High School.

YSD facilities staff is working with local vendors to lower radon levels in various locations throughout Rowe School, YES, and YHS.

During the December break, crews will be on site to drill mitigation holes in several locations of the Rowe School foundation, while YES and YHS remain under a long-term test protocol to see if similar work is needed at those facilities.

Once the foundation holes are drilled at Rowe, we will have better data regarding the final needs at that building and we will enter into a contract for the actual mitigation, which will occur as soon as possible after New Year's Day. 

That's right - it's Budget Season!

School personnel throughout the district are developing their budgets for the 2026-2027 school year, and the administration will soon be considering these requests and needs while putting together the operating budget proposal for consideration by the School Committee. As always, there are lots of opportunities for public review and input of the proposed budget. Important dates are shared below, and are updated on our website as needed.

Thursday, January 22            

Budget Workshop I       6:00 p.m., Log Cabin

Monday, January 26               

Budget Workshop II      6:00 p.m., Log Cabin

Thursday, February 5            

First Reading – School Committee Meeting     7:00 p.m., Log Cabin

Monday, March 9                   

Finance Committee review of first reading      8:30 a.m., Central Office

Thursday, March 12               

Second Reading – School Committee Meeting     7:00 p.m., Log Cabin

Thursday, March 19               

Budget Presentation to Town Council   7:00 p.m., Log Cabin

Thursday, April 2                   

Town Council – Public Hearing I and First Reading     7:00 p.m., Log Cabin

Thursday, May 7                    

Town Council – Public Hearing II      7:00 p.m., Log Cabin

Tuesday, June 2                      

Town Meeting – 7:00 p.m. at YHS Auditorium

Tuesday, June 9                      

Budget Referendum – 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. at YHS Gym

We hope 2026 is your best year, yet!