THANK YOU!

Thank you for re-electing me to the School Committee for my third term. I’m grateful to everyone who supported me - I couldn’t have done it without you! The campaign is over, but I am always open to conversation about our schools and addressing the concerns of parents and residents. Don’t hesitate to contact me at klenihan ‑at‑ lexingtonma ‑dot‑ org.

Priorities for this term

As the chair of the LHS School Building Committee, my focus is on taking a new LHS from the planning stages to the building stage. This is the time for us to determine what kind of high school we want for our future students - both the building itself and what kind of education we want to take place in that building. It is an incredible opportunity for Lexington to imagine what we want for our high school students both now and in the decades to come.

Beyond planning for the high school project, I plan to continue the work on DEI issues, including addressing and narrowing our achievement gaps. Our k-12 DEI curriculum has been many years in the making, and will require support to see it implemented. While we are seeing progress on resolving disparities in discipline, much work remains to be done. We also need to take steps to reduce disparities in achievement. Barriers to success have no place in Lexington.

Lexington has long been synonymous with excellence in education. We need to maintain that tradition, but can and must offer more than a rigorous academic education to our students. Redefining success is a goal that comes out of LPS strategic planning process. I enthusiastically support our joint School Committee-Superintendent goal of determining “the academic + social-emotional knowledge, skills, and attitudes that students need to succeed in the 21st century, aligning these skills to assessments, report cards, and graduation requirements.”

I look forward to continuing to serve our students, parents, educators, and community as we plan for the future and make our schools a place of “Joy in learning; curiosity in life; and compassion in all we do.” I hope to have your vote on March 5.