Dear Friends and Colleagues, 

One beautiful day in 2008: Alex, Anhad, Ben, Rod, and Kyuho walked into Fiske kindergarten. Soon followed by Alex, Varun, friends and many of their younger sisters.  

The children are now in college, the boys readying to graduate. So why am I telling this story? Because the story is about the parents. Over the 13 years of a Lexington Public School education they have become friends, cared for each others’ children, led school fundraisers or teacher breakfasts, cheered each other on, run half marathons, and had many meals together. 

So what does a public school system do? In Lexington it does a lot more than just graduate its students. It provides the framework for relationships that grow into roots which anchor a community. We are repositories of town history as experienced by ordinary residents. Our relationships are the launching pad for the children. 

Remember The Great Redistricting Debate of 2018? Some of our elementary students were transferred from their original school to another. We then had overcrowding in elementary schools and a new Hastings School to be filled. It was a very public and painful process. Parents, caregivers, grandparents spoke about how children moving would be so unfortunate. Stronger language was used too. I fully empathized with the parent community as these bonds of friendship were tight, not only amongst the children but even more importantly amongst the adults. (I heard the same yearning from every corner of Lexington, so was reassured. Our schools were doing something right!) 

If Lexington could be a Venn diagram, parents of Alex, Alex, Anhad, Ben, Kyuho, Rod, Varun and friends form one small circle amongst many similar overlapping circles. Lets work to include our Boston families too, an unfinished task that hopefully the School Committee will embrace. Until … the Venn diagram includes all ages, abilities, genders, races and religions. 

Enjoy the time with family and friends in peace and contentment. 

Happy holidays!

Best

Deepika Sawhney

(Vice Chair of School Committee till March 2025, Precinct 6 Town Meeting Member)

Resources

We all Belong by Lexington High School Rock Paper Scissors (Spot Rod and Kyuho!)

Join the Conversation

2 Comments

  1. Thank you Deepika
    Love your thoughts and expressions from your experience, what you saw and felt
    That special of being together – let us extend that equanimity – oneness for all as the surest way for infinite happiness
    Let me thank you for your service to town as a member and School Comittee member ( VP)
    for your positive contribution – tough task but you did with pride and passion so thank you again
    Please continue to inspire
    Happy holidays and best wishes
    Dinesh Patel MD
    Precinct 6 Tm

Leave a comment
All commenters must be registered and logged in with a verified email address. To register for an account visit the registration page for our site. If you already have an account, you can login here or by clicking "My Account" on the upper right hand corner of any page on the site, right above the search icon.

Commenters must use their real first and last name and a real email address.
We do not allow profanity, racism, or misinformation.
We expect civility and good-faith engagement.

We cannot always fact check every comment, verify every name, or debate the finer points of what constitutes civility. We reserve the right to remove any comment we deem inappropriate, and we ask for your patience and understanding if something slips through that may violate our terms.

We are open to a wide range of opinions and perspectives. Criticism and debate are fundamental to community – but so is respect and honesty. Thank you.