On October 17, Scituate faculty and families received an email outlining the district’s plans to expand the scope of the “Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)” position to focus on “social emotional learning (SEL).” This decision entailed eliminating a position held by the Director of Love, Inclusion & Trust, jamele adams (adams prefers to write his name without capitalization).
“I want to thank Jamele Adams for his leadership, his dedication to our students and his role in advancing equity in our schools,” wrote SPS Interim Superintendent Thomas Raab in a statement. According to the email, DEI will include one aspect of the expanded SEL role, which seeks to help young people “develop healthy identities, manage emotions, show empathy, build positive relationships and make responsible, caring decisions” to create “safe, healthy and just communities.”
Hired in 2021 as the district’s first director of diversity, equity, and inclusion, adams was best known among students for organizing “This is Our House” assemblies, which sought to foster love, inclusion, and trust within the school community.
In July 2023, after a hate crime directed toward adams was found on a Scituate beach, he led a rally spreading his message of love, inclusion, and trust to the broader community.
The October 17th email and the implications of adams’s absence sparked a notable community response. During the School Committee meeting on Monday, October 20th, the 15 minutes originally allocated for public comment were extended to over an hour due to a unified show of support for adams. Approximately 75 people attended the meeting in person, including students, faculty, and community members from across the district, while 130 people attended on Zoom.
“He’s always been that smiling face,” said SHS junior Maeve Lynch during her remarks, emphasizing the importance of adams to the community. “He makes everyone feel like they have a place, even if you feel like you don’t have a place at Scituate.” Throughout the public comments period, students and staff from across the district expressed their praise for adams and his work, while numerous individuals in the audience could be seen tearing up.
“Without [jamele’s] light, I feel [Scituate’s] stability and light will be dimmed.” expressed Scituate educator and parent Nicole Gracia in an impassioned speech–a sentiment that appeared to be shared by nearly the entire audience on Monday night.
Perhaps the most powerful moment came when SHS junior Elena Riedel asked each person in the room who had been positively impacted by adams to stand, bringing an overwhelming majority of the room to its feet. “I personally believe we were not consulted for this decision, and I feel like it negatively impacts us,” Riedel stated.
Nevertheless, not all feedback solely expressed appreciation for adams’s efforts. Instead, some called into question the transparency and decision-making process behind the move, especially within the context of today’s political landscape, in which the Trump administration is questioning education systems that utilize DEI policies.
During the meeting, METCO student and SHS junior Jayla Mae Stephens called the decision to transition toward social emotional learning without seeking students’ input “displeasing,” before stating that the interim superintendent made a “personal decision” in adams’s firing. Raab is currently serving as the interim superintendent for the remainder of the school year after Superintendent William Burkhead announced his retirement in September.
Others at the meeting–like SHS parent Katy Sullivan–argued that the move wasn’t a personnel decision, and that the community’s grievances lie in the abrupt “changing of resources and positions” without community involvement.
On the other hand, parent Josh Roman raised points that SEL is entirely different from DEI, stating that suggestions from the school board that the two overlap represent a “fundamental lack of understanding” of the concepts. Furthermore, Roman went on to say that the transition away from DEI is a “slap in the face” to his son–a member of the Asian community, sending the message that Scituate is “not a safe place” for members of marginalized communities.
Despite numerous speakers urging the School Committee to reconsider the decision, the board has so far taken no further action related to this matter. The district is currently in the process of hiring someone to fulfill the new role “effective January 2026.”