Yarmouth School Department: Community Voice at the Center of a Unanimous Decision

For Yarmouth School Committee Chair Christina Patrick, the value of Zeal's search process was clear well before a candidate was ever selected. "We found tremendous value from Zeal's excellent community engagement process, their coordination of all candidate logistics and communication, and their consistent and immediate responsiveness to our feedback and needs," she wrote in her letter of recommendation.

That engagement process was, by design, thorough. Patrick described it as "thoughtful, rigorous, and inclusive," a combination of ThoughtExchange digital engagement, individual interviews, and focus groups that reached across the district, from school principals to middle school students. "Zeal consultants did an exceptional job asking a concise list of powerful, open questions in community focus groups that surfaced candid feedback," Patrick wrote. "The Zeal team quickly established trust and rapport, whether facilitating focus groups with middle school students or meeting with school principals."

That range, from adult stakeholders to middle schoolers, reflects a deliberate choice to treat community voice as more than a formality. The result was 284 digital participants generating 255 distinct "thoughts" and 8,051 ratings, all of which Zeal "efficiently translated into a summary report," according to Patrick, who added plainly: "We could not have run such a meaningful community engagement process without their support and expertise."

As the search moved into recruitment and interviews, the operational load shifted to Zeal's team, and Patrick described the relief that came with it. "It took a weight off of my shoulders to know that Zeal was on top of all candidate communication, scheduling interviews, answering questions, and following up with updates and decisions," she wrote. "This allowed our search committee to focus on deliberating and advancing the best fit candidates, knowing that logistics and communication were in good hands."

The Yarmouth School Committee did not simply adopt Zeal's process wholesale, and that flexibility became one of the search's defining features. "At times, our School Committee wanted to adapt Zeal's recommended process to meet our district norms and community needs," Patrick explained. "The Zeal team was open to adjusting the process, and even excited to learn from us. This strengthened our partnership and allowed us to meet our goals."

The search concluded with the Yarmouth School Committee unanimously appointing its next Superintendent of Schools on the district's original hiring timeline. "I am grateful for Zeal's expertise and partnership that made this possible," Patrick wrote, closing her recommendation with a direct offer to speak with any district considering the same path.

“This spring, the Yarmouth School Committee unanimously appointed our next Superintendent of Schools, meeting our hiring timeline and meeting our goal to hire an exceptional leader.” - Christina Patrick, Chair, Yarmouth School Committee, Maine