42°26′39.72″N71°11′58.30″W / 42.4443667°N 71.1995278°W /42.4443667; -71.1995278
Lexington Public Schools is a public school district inLexington,Massachusetts, United States. The district comprises sixelementary schools, twomiddle schools, and ahigh school. Each elementary and middle school is named after an important figure in Lexington's history.
There are nine schools in the Lexington Public School district:
Lexington's six elementary schools - Bowman, Bridge, Joseph Estabrook, Fiske, Harrington, and Maria Hastings - serve students in kindergarten through 5th grade.
Bowman Elementary is named for the descendants ofNathaniel Bowman, the progenitor of an important family in Lexington's history.[1] The current principal at Bowman is Jenny Corduck. The mascot of the school is the Bowman Bear.[2]
Bridge Elementary is named for the descendants of Matthew Bridge, to whom the once-farmland around the school site formerly belonged. A mural on the front side of the school building represents "working together". The current principal at Bridge is Meg Colella.
Bridge was a High PerformingNational Blue Ribbon School in 2010.[3]
Estabrook Elementary is named after Joseph Estabrook (1669–1733), the first school teacher in Lexington. The current principal at Estabrook is Gerardo Martinez.
The school garnered nationwide attention from the David Parker controversy, when parents sued the Lexington school system, arguing that their children were being coerced by public school teachers "to affirm the correctness and the normalcy ofhomosexuality" andsame-sex marriage. The bulk of the legality of the controversy revolved around whether parents have a right to receive parental notification and opt their elementary school children out of such content. Federal courts ruled against the Parkers.[4]
The school was torn down and rebuilt in time for the 2014–15 school year due to PCB contamination. This was the first time in the United States that a school was torn down for that reason.[5]
Fiske Elementary is named for the Fiske family, which, circa 1678, was the first family to settle on East Street. The current principal at Fiske is Brian Baker. The current facility was constructed between 2005 and 2007.
A Fiske that was formerly located on Maple Street, adjacent to Harrington Elementary School, closed in February 2007, reopening as an office building, the Lexington Public Schools Administrative Offices, in 2008.[6]
Harrington Elementary is named for the Harrington family, which produced many notable town citizens, such as Jonathan Harrington, who was killed in theBattle of Lexington, and another of the same name who was the battle's last survivor. The current principal at Harrington is Jackie Daley.
Maria Hastings Elementary is named after Maria Hastings Cary, a local philanthropist and the founder of the town's main public library,Cary Library. The current principal at Hastings is Chris Wai.
The school was rebuilt from 2018 to 2020 due to a need for increased capacity.[7]
| William Diamond Middle School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
 | |
99 Hancock St. ,, 02420 | |
| Coordinates | 42°27′49.47″N71°13′41.73″W / 42.4637417°N 71.2282583°W /42.4637417; -71.2282583 |
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| School district | Lexington Public Schools |
| NCES District ID | 2506840[8] |
| Superintendent | Julie Hackett |
| NCES School ID | 250684002552[9] |
| Principal | Johnny Cole Stefani Harvey (Assistant Principal) Jeremie Bateman (Assistant Principal) |
| Faculty | 69.00 (onfull-time equivalent (FTE) basis) |
| Grades | 6-8 |
| Enrollment | 742 |
| • Grade 6 | 252 |
| • Grade 7 | 262 |
| • Grade 8 | 228 |
| Student to teacher ratio | 10.75 |
| Campus type | Suburban |
| Colors | Blue & Gold |
| Feeder schools | Joseph Estabrook Elementary School Fiske Elementary School Maria Hastings Elementary School |
| Feeder to | Lexington High School (Massachusetts) |
| Website | www |
| Jonas Clarke Middle School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
 | |
17 Stedman Rd. ,, 02421 | |
| Coordinates | 42°25′47.62″N71°13′45.65″W / 42.4298944°N 71.2293472°W /42.4298944; -71.2293472 |
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| School district | Lexington Public Schools |
| NCES District ID | 2506840[10] |
| Superintendent | Julie Hackett |
| NCES School ID | 250684002551[11] |
| Principal | Dane Despres[12] Jonathan Wettstone (assistant principal)Mary Barry-Ng (assistant principal) |
| Faculty | 72.37 (onfull-time equivalent (FTE) basis) |
| Grades | 6-8 |
| Enrollment | 764 |
| • Grade 6 | 260 |
| • Grade 7 | 262 |
| • Grade 8 | 242 |
| Student to teacher ratio | 10.56 |
| Campus type | Suburban |
| Colors | Blue & Gold |
| Feeder schools | Bowman Elementary School Bridge Elementary School Harrington Elementary School |
| Feeder to | Lexington High School (Massachusetts) |
| Website | www |
Lexington's two public middle schools - William Diamond MS and Jonas Clarke MS, commonly referred to as "Diamond" and "Clarke," respectively - serve students between 6th and 8th grade. Students at Diamond are generally fed in through Estabrook, Fiske, and Hastings, and students at Clarke are generally fed in through Bowman, Bridge, and Harrington.
Like many middle schools, both Diamond and Clarke operate in an academic team system, in which each grade is broken down into smaller groups of common teachers and students. Each of the grades in both schools is divided into three teams, with one exception. Diamond and Clarke have built a cross-town rivalry bridging academics and athletics.
Both Diamond and Clarke have been among the top schools inMCAS testing.[13]
Academically, both schools offer a comparable curriculum comprising several core subjects in addition to a wide range of electives. Students are required to take courses in math, science, English, and social studies, each of which follows its own track.
In math, students are required to take courses ranging from algebra, with placement and level being determined individually. In science, students are required to take courses in earth science, life science, chemistry, and physics.
In social studies, students are required to take courses focusing on ancient civilizations, world geography, and civics in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades, respectively. In foreign languages, students have the option to take a sequence of courses inFrench,Spanish, orMandarin Chinese. TheMandarin Language program is ranked one of the best Mandarin Language programs in the country[citation needed], and the school and Mandarin teachers have received many awards[citation needed], such as theConfucius Institute Award and various cash and technological prizes from theChinese Government. Top students in Spanish have the opportunity to visitPuerto Rico, or in past and recent years,Spain, as part of a language and culture immersion trip abroad. Similarly, top students in French have the opportunity to visitQuebec City, and top students in Mandarin have the opportunity to visitBeijing and/orTaipei.
Students in both schools have the additional opportunity to participate in their respective school's orchestra, band, or chorus.
Both schools field varsity teams in many sports, including cross-country running, soccer, basketball, track, field hockey, baseball, and softball.[14]
Led by coaches Sarah Doonan at Diamond and Joshua Frost at Clarke, Lexington's middle school math teams are renowned for their successes and mutual rivalry in competitions such asMathCounts, theNEML, theAmerican Mathematics Competitions (AMC), and in theIntermediate Math League of Eastern Massachusetts (IMLEM). Clarke's current run of seven consecutive IMLEM championships was immediately preceded by nine consecutive championships by Diamond. Two Lexington natives have won the Mathcounts national championship: Jonathan L. Weinstein in 1991 and Alec Sun in 2013. Both William Diamond Middle School and Jonas Clarke Middle School have won first-place titles at the Science Olympiad over the past few years.[citation needed]
Both schools have a plethora of other clubs and teams.
The school is named after William Diamond, the 16-year-olddrummer for the LexingtonMinutemen during theBattle of Lexington and Concord. The current principal at Diamond is Dr. Johnny Cole, and the assistant principals are Jeremie Bateman and Dr. Stef Harvey.
The current names of the 6th-grade teams areInnovator,Pathfinder,Adventurer, andDiscoverer. The 7th Grade Teams are namedDetermination,Fortitude,Resilience, andTenacity. the 8th grade teams are namedAlliance,Fusion,Harmony, andUnity.
Along with many other extra-curricular activities, Diamond has a school newspaper, called the "Diamond Press" (previously known as the Diamond Dispatch), which is run by the students and a 6th-grade English teacher. In addition, a fall play and a winter musical are staged every year in the fall and winter, respectively. Both productions are collaborated upon by the drama and technical departments, with the addition of the chorus department for the musical. Students have the option of auditioning for the cast or applying for the stage crew. Although Diamond does not have a formal student-run government, the Student Council determines spirit days, fundraisers, and other matters.
Many of the 7th and 8th grade French and Spanish classes compete in the National French Exam and National Spanish Exam, respectively.[15]
The school is named after the local pastorJonas Clarke, who was present at the standoff at Lexington Green shortly before the shots that started the Revolutionary War. The current principal at Clarke is Dane Despres,[12] and the assistant principals are Mary Barry-Ng and Jonathan Wettstone.[citation needed] The school mascot is Jonas Bark theBulldog.
Jonas Clarke Middle School has been rated one of the top schools in theUnited States,[citation needed] and received the High-PerformingNational Blue Ribbon Award in 2013.[16]
The 6th grade teams are namedAtlantis,Quest,Voyager, andColumbia(legacy); the 7th grade teams are namedEnterprise (legacy),Endeavor,Adventurer, andExplorer; and the 8th grade teams are namedApollo,Artemis, andDiscovery. The teams are all named after NASA missions.
The S.G.A. (student government association) is the student-run government of Clarke.
Clarke also has a school newspaper, called the "Clarke Barker", which is also run by the students and a 6th-grade English teacher. Clarke's other extra-curricular activities vary in type; however, most activities are either academic, artistic, or athletic. New activities are created each year at the request of the students, if there is a faculty or parent coordinator.
Most students who go through the Lexington Public Schools system end up at Lexington High School. Alternatively, students are allowed to attend the regional vocational school, Minuteman Regional High School, and a few each year decide to take the opportunity. Additionally, some students who go through the Lexington Public Schools system prefer to attend regional private schools.
The current principal at Lexington High School is Andrew Baker, and the associate principal is Dan Melia. There are five deans: Scott Kmack, Habiba Davis, Michael Horesh, Patrick Larkin, and Linda Bartlett.[17]
