Yarmouth Elementary School in 2022. (Rachel Vitello / The Forecaster)

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Yarmouth Superintendent Andrew Dolloff. (Photo courtesy of Yarmouth Public Schools)

Students across Yarmouth are starting to pack their backpacks for the first day of school.

Grades 1-12 will start after Labor Day on Sept. 2, with pre-K and kindergarten beginning on Sept. 4, with earlier starts by appointment on Sept. 2 and 3.

To help students and families get ready for day one, Yarmouth Superintendent Andrew Dolloff answers questions about changes to the year ahead:

(Responses have been edited for clarity.)

Any changes in academic calendar, school start times or bus routes students need to know about?

The only change this year is that we now have two half-days for students in grades pre-K through 8 (Oct. 29 and March 18) to provide teachers time to prepare for and hold parent-teacher conferences. We have such a high participation rate, our teachers could not complete the conferences in the time previously allotted, and this change should help alleviate a bit of that time crunch.

Any changes in regard to student cell phone use or technology?

We have not made additional changes to our cellphone policy, though we continue to review it.

Cell phones are banned in grades pre-K through 8 during the school day. At the high school, cellphones are not allowed during academic time, but may be used during lunch. We have made a couple of changes to our technology use protocols, as we will be filtering social media, streaming, and gaming sites for all schools and school-issued devices, which will reduce student access to those distractions.

Are there any changes in school leadership from last year? 

Our leadership team remains intact from last year with no changes or additions., and we have hired nearly 40 new staff members across the organization, including approximately one dozen teachers and many more support personnel such as custodians, school nutrition workers and educational technicians. We are fortunate to be fully staffed at this point.

Any other significant changes or developments in the district from last year? 

We are entering year four of our five year strategic plan, with a continued focus on providing appropriate pathways to success for each student.