YARMOUTH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION IN THE YARMOUTH SCHOOLS

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. 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. We invite you to read that statement as one way to learn more about our work.

In the fall of 2019, the Yarmouth School Committee, upon recommendation of the school administration, identified increasing intercultural competence as one of the district's priority areas, adopting the following language:

Priority 1: School Culture and Climate

Support the administration in making intercultural competence and social justice a district-wide focus for the coming year, with specific programming for staff development, student instruction, and community awareness.

That work began with training at the leadership level and was followed by district-wide professional development for all educators, student programming, and eventually community engagement. While the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the level to which we have been able to promote this work within each school, momentum has continued with the 2020 formation of Yarmouth's Equity Task Force, the creation of a Black Students' Alliance, participation in Maine's Cultural Competence Institute, and ongoing engagement with Maine Intercultural Communications Consultants to guide our learning as the district commits to a journey of continual improvement.

EQUITY TASK FORCE

In June 2020, the School Committee approved the formation of the Equity Task Force with the following charge:

To promote inclusion, identify systemic inequities, and illuminate 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 group identity.