Lexington Schools Show 85 Percent K-5 Literacy Benchmark Rate, Gaps Remain

LEXINGTON -- March 11, 2025, Lexington School Committee defers school calendar vote, hears K-8 literacy data showing 85 percent benchmark rate. At the March 11 meeting, Chair Eileen Jay and colleagues Kathleen Lenahan and newly elected Sarah Carter, a quorum of three, received a presentation from K-5 literacy department head Sarah Kalaya and director of data and strategy Maureen Kavanaugh showing that 85 percent of K-5 students met end-of-year DIBELS benchmarks in 2023-24, while performance for the highest-need special education subgroup fell to 38 percent. Preliminary Linkit data showed 214 students, roughly 8 percent of grades K-8, carrying active reading or writing intervention goals as of March 6. Finance staff reported a $891,000 salary deficiency through December 31 offset by a $573,000 expense surplus, with transportation running $700,000 over budget largely due to McKinney-Vento placements costing up to $500 per student per day. A vote on draft 2025-26 and 2026-27 school calendars was postponed to a special session on March 26 after constituent confusion arose over which religious holidays would be school closure days.