by Layla Hariry

Please vote to re-elect Eileen Jay to the School Committee.  

I am a Lexington resident since 1998 with three children who have recently gone through the LPS system.  But I am also the daughter of a teacher nearing retirement who also resides in town.  As a family we all feel deeply indebted to all the opportunities Lexington has given my children.  We are unquestionably committed to making sure Lexington schools continue to offer the academic excellence my children experienced for our town’s children in the future.  However, we are also personally mindful of the financial pressures of living in a town that has provided my children incredible golden opportunities I could have never imagined. 

I have know Eileen Jay for over 15 years, since she was an LHS mother organizing a parent support group that met weekly at Lexington High School.  She has enthusiastically continued managing the parent group of recent LHS alumni weekly from that time.  She even arranged to shift it to Zoom throughout the pandemic to offer a lifeline of support and community when all public spaced closed down in-person meetings.  Through these weekly group discussions, coming on two decades, I’ve come to know Eileen Jay’s values, expertise, and personal circumstances.  With a doctorate from Harvard’s School of Education, I appreciate the wisdom she always offers, developed through both years of formal training and hands-on experience as the Chair of the Lexington School Committee.  I have also seen her fortitude and warmth in facing the challenges of juggling college bound high school boys, while also supporting the wishes of aging parents nearing one-hundred, wanting to remain in their home, the home she grew up in Arlington.  

I know the academic ideal and fiscal reality is always a hard circle to square, but I trust Eileen Jay understands, from first hand experiences developed over decades of the critical importance of balancing academic excellence with the needs of all in our community.  So please join me in voting to re-elect Eileen Jay to continue working to make Lexington’s future brighter for all.

— Layla Hariry, Bowker Street