Lexington School Committee Tables AI-Based Private School Application Pending Further Review

LEXINGTON — June 9, 2026 — Lexington School Committee tables AI-driven private school application, approves 2027-28 calendar. The committee voted unanimously to table the application of Alpha School, a K-8 mastery-based school using AI-assisted personalized instruction, after members raised unresolved questions about staff teaching qualifications, curriculum design, and incomplete building safety documentation at the June 9 meeting. Applicant J.C. Fisher and remote head of schools Dr. Tasha Arnold described a model featuring two hours per day of AI-paced instruction and a 1-to-6 student-to-guide ratio, but member Sarah Carter drew a sharp line between academic standards and curriculum — "those are very different things" — while member Eileen Jay flagged insufficient evidence on the model's outcomes. The committee separately approved the 2027-2028 school calendar 5-0 and completed a first reading of state-mandated policy JKKA on student restraint, with a second reading set for June 16. The school lunch program, run by Whitson's Culinary Group, was reported as self-sustaining and drawing nothing from the general fund, serving 673,977 lunches and 148,120 breakfasts year-to-date with a per-lunch federal reimbursement of $4.70.