Jerry Xu is pictured with his project poster at the Regeneron Science Talent Search 2026. / Credit: Regeneron Science Talent Search
Lexington High School senior Jerry Xu believes that science can be approached in two ways. The first is through a textbook; the second is by making it come to life around you.
Xu, 17, chose the second path. On March 10, he earned a $90,000 scholarship for placing fifth at the Regeneron Science Talent Search, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science research competition for high school seniors. Xu created an Artificial Intelligence model that compares the three-dimensional structure of proteins, the molecules that build and repair tissue in the human body. From more than 2,000 applicants, judges selected him as one of 40 finalists to present independent research at the Regeneron Science Talent Institute in Washington, D.C.
Genetic and medical researchers compare protein structures to understand how molecules function. Small variations in shape can alter a protein’s behavior and trigger disease. Xu’s tool reduced the time needed to analyze proteins from hours to minutes by converting them into correlated numerical patterns of the same size, rather than the current methods, which compare proteins of different sizes.
Xu’s finish in the Regeneron competition is the highlight of a high school career defined by accomplishment. Last October, he led a team that created an AI chatbot that answers questions about the Lexington High School building project. He co-founded a summer lecture series that teaches biology and math to students of all ages, tutored programming students at the KTBYTE academy in Burlington, and captained the Lexington High School Science Bowl team to a regional championship.
“I think that as a high schooler, using [science] in my community is one of the easiest and most impactful ways for me to apply my knowledge,” Xu said. “I’m really grateful that the town of Lexington is willing to accept me and try to guide me towards designing these products that are going to help the community.”
Xu devoted the past year to researching, developing and coding his model through the MIT PRIMES Program, a year-long curriculum that offers research resources to high school students in the Boston area under the mentorship of Dr. Gil Alterovitz and Dr. Shaojun Pei, both of Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
“One thing that really struck me is [Jerry’s] passion, his ability to think about things deeply and think about how to explore things at a deep level,” Alterovitz said.
Xu hopes researchers and scientists will use his tool to improve protein genetic analysis. He plans to continue working on the model after the competition.
“There’s a couple of ideas that I have for my project. One of them is to expand the scale of my model,” he said. “There’s a lot of different directions that I want to explore with this project before I head off to college.”
Xu plans to use the $90,000 scholarship toward college. He’s considering the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology, Yale University, and other schools. Before he makes his decision, Xu will prepare for the National Science Bowl in April and his approaching high school graduation.
This story was written by a journalism student in BU’s Newsroom program, a partnership between the university, The Lexington Observer and other news organizations in the Boston area.
In the center of Depot Square, a metallic crescent moon cradles a dangling star, its silver embellishments gleaming. The Lexington Muslim Community purchased the statue ahead of last year’s Ramadan celebration, hoping it would spark curiosity about the Islamic faith long after the month ends.
A crescent moon statue purchased by the Lexington Muslim Community in February 2025 stands in front of the Lexington Historical Society in Depot Square. / Photo credit: Jordan DelFiugo.
“We intentionally chose metal for the piece because it reflects both literally and figuratively, representing spiritual reflection and deeper self-awareness,” said Huda Ghabieh, a member of the Lexington Muslim Community who helped organize the statue’s installation. “The crescent helps kindle conversations and understanding with neighbors. My hope is that it is always remembered that way, to strengthen our relationships and friendships, no matter the time.”
Ramadan follows the Islamic lunar calendar, and each month begins with the sighting of a new crescent moon. The crescent symbol carries special meaning for Muslims worldwide as well as those in the Lexington community.
Lexington resident Rabiha Sami, owner of Rabiha’s, a custom bakery, uses the crescent symbol as inspiration when creating Ramadan-themed baked goods.
“It’s the moon that determines the start and the end of Ramadan, so you’ll see me making a lot of different crescents and celestial treats,” she said, adding that she likes to use cardamom and rose flavor profiles to bring more of her culture into her creations.
During Ramadan, Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset, refraining from food and drink while focusing on generosity and gratitude. The month concludes with Eid al-Fitr, this year falling on March 19, a celebration marking the end of the fast.
A native of Pakistan, Sami grew up with everyone around her observing Ramadan and celebrating the holiday “to the max,” she said. Prior to moving to Lexington in 2019, she also spent 20 years in New York, which she said was a “very different” experience because of the city’s large Muslim population. Census-based estimates reported by The Boston Globe suggest that approximately 1,400 Lexington residents, about 4% of the town’s population, are Muslim.
In a smaller community like Lexington, Sami said it can be harder to find Ramadan-related foods or decorations.
“Here, when we go to the store to pick something up, there are usually no special treats that celebrate Ramadan,” Sami said. “I really try my best to make it accessible to a lot of locals who would like to get Ramadan-themed stuff for their family and their friends.”
Still, Sami said the Muslim community in Lexington “really comes together” during Ramadan.
Last year, the town held its first public Ramadan celebration in the town center, organized by the Lexington Muslim Community. This year, the group was unable to host a ceremony due to the heavy snowfall, Ghabieh said. However, next year they plan to have an indoor “Light Up the Crescent” event on the first night of Ramadan.
“Everyone in town will be welcomed,” Ghabieh said. “We hope this becomes a tradition that continues to bring the whole town together.”
In the meantime, community members have been having smaller get-togethers.
“A lot of people have potlucks — iftars — when we open our fast. I’ve also seen people be very generous, donating to families in need,” Sami said. “During Ramadan, we’re taught not just to be grateful for what we have, but also to share what we have.”
Sami also prepares platters of both sweet and savory foods to share with neighbors, many of whom are not Muslim.
“It’s just a way to share our culture and our celebrations,” she said.
As a mother of two teenage boys, Sami emphasized the importance of bringing her children into the celebration.
“I’ve done anything and everything to excite my kids from a young age — I get creative,” she said. “Similar to how a lot of people do advent calendars for Christmas, I do advent calendars around Ramadan. I just try to keep it really light and happy and talk about the meaning and the purpose behind it.”
Ghabieh said Ramadan’s meaning is often misunderstood and overshadowed by the idea that the month is simply about fasting.
“The deeper purpose is spiritual growth,” she said. “It is a joyful and meaningful time, centered on compassion, generosity and caring for others.”
For Sohail Masood, co-founder of Omar’s World of Comics, those values extend into his family’s business.
“That’s really what Ramadan means, sacrificing yourself and understanding that there are people who may not have enough food to eat,” Masood said. “Fasting helps you feel empathy for other people.”
The popular comic book shop, located in downtown Lexington, is named after his son, Omar, a young man with Down syndrome who graduated from the LABBB Special Education Collaborative at Lexington High School. Today, the business partners with LABBB as a vocational training center for students with special needs. The shop and community space is accompanied by an adjacent restaurant, Omar’s Bistro.
“We are known in the Muslim community because our bistro meat is halal. We are the only folks in Lexington who have halal burgers,” Masood said.
Although the shop has not yet hosted Ramadan events, Masood said the family hopes to expand their celebrations in the future, including potentially hosting an Eid party next year. This year, he plans to celebrate Eid with his family and friends at a seafood buffet.
Community support during Ramadan extends beyond individual families. The Muslim American Community Center of Lexington, a local nonprofit organization, serves more than 200 families in the greater Boston area and provides programs and resources for Muslim residents throughout the year.
According to Ghabieh, the Lexington Muslim Community also works to build connections with the town. Each year during Eid, members organize breakfasts for staff at Lexington Public Schools as well as the town’s fire and police departments.
“These are small gestures, but they’re meaningful ways to show appreciation and build relationships,” she said.
Over time, Ghabieh said she has seen growing awareness and support for Ramadan across Lexington. Local organizations have offered public spaces for prayer gatherings and iftar meals, and community institutions such as the library and community center have hosted displays and educational materials about the holiday.
“There has been greater openness and curiosity from the broader community,” Ghabieh said. “That helps Ramadan feel more visible and understood.”
This story was written by a journalism student in BU’s Newsroom program, a partnership between the university, The Lexington Observer and other news organizations in the Boston area.
Lexington Girls Indoor Track and Field Division 1 Champions / Photo Credit: Stephen Cho
The Lexington High School women’s track and field team won its second straight Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association Division 1 indoor championship last week, more than doubling the score of second-place Central Catholic, and will send 26 athletes to the New Balance National Indoor Meet in Boston running tomorrow through Sunday.
The women tore through the Middlesex League regular season undefeated at 5-0, then carried that momentum into the championship meet with five athletes placing first in individual and relay events.
But as the winter season comes to a close, the Minutemen’s women turn their attention to the upcoming national meet, where Lexington’s standout seniors and emerging young athletes are preparing to compete against the best high schoolers in the nation.
“We are in a unique period of time with this group of athletes, where almost everyone on the team is incredibly talented,” said Lexington track and field head coach Rebecca Trachsel. “The combination of their strength as athletes and their mental strength is like nothing I’ve ever experienced to date.”
Of the 26 women preparing to represent Lexington over the next four days, none stand out more than senior thrower Ainsley Cuthbertson, who is ranked No. 1 in the country in the 20-pound weight throw and holds the Massachusetts state record in shot put.
The senior captain’s dominance in throwing events belies her reserved demeanor. Often emitting no more than a small grunt as she propels projectiles farther than any high school woman in the country, Cuthbertson’s multiple school, state and national records speak to her dedication to the sport.
“She came in freshman year, very driven, excited to learn and said to [Lexington throwing coach] Coach [James] Hall, ‘I will do anything it takes to be the best in the country,’” said Trachsel. “She works throughout the summer. She works in the fall. It’s because of that … she has gotten to the point that she’s at now.”
The senior’s work ethic has propelled her from not qualifying for nationals as a freshman to her final indoor season, where she hopes to win the national championship.
“This year has been a pretty huge year for me on the national scale, which has been really cool,” Cuthbertson said. “My goal is to win the weight throw at both national meets.”
On the track, members of the Lexington team are transitioning from the team-first mentality of the regular season to a more individual mentality as they prepare for nationals.
“The bigger meets we thought about more as a team, but this is more individual, picturing your own race,” said sophomore long-distance runner Jane Conrad. “Trying to do it for yourself and trying to prove to yourself what you can do.”
For Conrad, proving herself means taking on the nation’s best in the 5,000-meter event, a race she has only run once during the indoor season. She finished fourth overall and broke the school record at the USA Track & Field New England Indoor Track & Field Championship on Feb. 22.
“I just want to work on racing a bunch of people at the national level,” she said. “I’ve only run it once on the track, and I just want to work on racing with a bunch of people around me.”
For fellow sophomore Amelia Whorton, the upcoming meet is another chance to succeed in multiple events, a role she has quickly earned in her two years at Lexington. Whorton won first place in the 1,000-meter, 1-mile, and 4×800 relay events at the division championship and already holds school records in the 600-meter, 800-meter, 1,000-meter, and one-mile events.
“She will step up to any opportunity, both individually and on a relay, if it gives her an opportunity to display what she’s capable of,” Trachsel said. “I think there’s a part of her that loves the challenge of seeing what she’s capable of every time she does it.”
Whether it’s Cuthbertson in the throwing circle or Conrad and Whorton on the track, Lexington’s women aspire to ride the team’s momentum and make a mark on the biggest stage of the season.
This story was written by a journalism student in BU’s Newsroom program, a partnership between the university, The Lexington Observer and other news organizations in the Boston area.
From left to right: Kevin Chen, Grette Buttner and Rajvir Kalra gather at the Isaac Harris Cary Memorial Building, where they will host the first LexYouthCivics conference Saturday / Photo courtesy of Raluca Buttner
Grette Buttner wanted a firsthand look at how her town government worked. She searched for school clubs and programs that would let her connect directly with elected officials and ask about local issues. When she couldn’t find one, The Winsor School junior started LexYouthCivics, a first-of-its-kind initiative that introduces Lexington high school students to the inner workings of local government.
“Establishing a base-level knowledge about how our town government works is our primary and fundamental goal,” Buttner said. “Some people don’t have that knowledge which, to me, is quite alarming.”
Lexington High School students Rajvir Kalra, Anya Sawant and Kevin Chen joined Buttner as project organizers.
Buttner came to their school looking for a team of students to collaborate with her on LexYouthCivics. “At the time she just had a name and a vague idea,” Kalra said. “She was looking for students who were interested in civics and town government … to create this event for students to participate in.”
Kalra said that he was interested in public service but struggled to find a way to get involved in local government. Though his school offered clubs like Model UN and Mock Debate, he wanted a tangible way to gain experience and talk directly to officials in an open setting before going off to college.
“That’s why I’m super passionate about joining LexYouthCivics and making it a reality,” he said. “I feel very deeply connected to this event.”
Together, the students developed a conference-style program. The four-hour event, which takes place at Cary Hall on Feb. 28, event brings together local government officials, community leaders and high school students for an interactive day of learning about town government and civic engagement. Kalra said they expect Saturday’s event to draw 250 students.
The group spent months going door-to-door to local businesses, seeking sponsorships and hanging posters. In the end, the Lexington Youth Commission,Lexington League of Women Voters and Center Goods agreed to help finance the event. Lexington High School also agreed to allow the event to count toward students’ required community service hours.
“We really want to emphasize to students that it is important, especially within this political climate, to understand how you can be involved in making change within your own society,” Kalra said.
Buttner said she hopes the event will remind students about the ways civic participation can shape their lives and communities. “I want to remind students, ‘You should have political power,’” she said. “You should have the opportunity to sway policy and contribute to your town.”
The event will run from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and feature a series of workshops, including a mock town meeting. Four speakers are scheduled: Select Board Member Jill Hai, Town Moderator Deborah Brown, Dominic Bronico, Pastor of Connections and Young Adults at Grace Chapel, and state Rep. Michelle Ciccolo.
Kalra said he is especially excited to hear from Ciccolo. “She obviously has so much experience in town and now the state government,” he said. “She’s someone that students don’t really have access to on a normal day.”
Ciccolo represents the 15th Middlesex District of Massachusetts, which includes parts of Woburn and Winchester, along with Lexington. In the legislature, she focuses on issues such as environmental sustainability, public health and education equity.
“It’s a really exciting initiative,” Ciccolo said. “I spent the first 25 years of my career in local government, and I very much appreciate the tangible and immediate impact that serving at the local level has. You can see the results of your work, and it’s much easier to understand how democracy works and how you can individually have a real, profound impact.”
Ciccolo said more money should be invested in civics education. Massachusetts has taken steps to strengthen it, including a 2018 law requiring student-led civics projects and promoting high school voter registration. Still, just 39% of eighth-graders met grade-level standards on the state’s first civics Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System in 2025.
“When we don’t teach civics, I think it raises residents and citizens to have less faith in their government and they don’t feel the moral obligation and responsibility to give back,” Ciccolo said. “That’s not good for democracy.”
Only 27% of registered voters participated in last year’s town election, up from 9% in 2023. That year, 80% of voters were older than 50.
Buttner said she hopes the event will encourage eligible students to vote in future elections and become more involved in Lexington. “We want students to be aware of what’s happening in the town,” she said. “Whether that means just going to the library or joining the Lexington Youth Commission.”
Looking ahead, Buttner and Kalra hope to expand LexYouthCivics. Buttner envisions a program that meets regularly to discuss local issues that affect students directly.
“I see LexYouthCivics … integrated into the Lexington consciousness and into the Lexington civic landscape,” she said. “I really hope it remains even when I eventually depart and go to college.”
This story was written by a journalism student in BU’s Newsroom program, a partnership between the university, The Lexington Observer and other news organizations in the Boston area.
Lexington Town Meeting Members will vote on a citizens’ petition to adopt a “Skip the Stuff” bylaw that would require local restaurants to ask customers before adding single-use plastic utensils or condiment packets to takeout orders. The vote will take place during the annual Town Meeting beginning March 30.
“The point of the bylaw is for the restaurants to have to ask as opposed to automatically just putting this stuff in there when people don’t need it,” said Laura Swain, primary petitioner of the bylaw and a member of the Lexington Waste Reduction Task Force.
The “Skip the Stuff” initiative is part of a national campaign by the same name. Cities including Denver, Chicago and Washington, D.C., have adopted it, with California, Washington and New York establishing similar legislation at the state level.
In Massachusetts, a “Skip the Stuff” bill sponsored by state Rep. Michelle Ciccolo was referred to the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources last February. Newton, Brookline, Wellesley and Swampscott have already passed similar laws.
The petition builds on the town’s Zero Waste Plan, which was adopted in 2023. Lexington began phasing out the use and distribution of single-use water bottles in 2024 and has since launched a curbside composting program and a reusable food container initiative for local restaurants.
When petitioners visited more than 70 percent of restaurants, they discovered that some Lexington eateries were already in compliance with the spirit of “Skip the Stuff,” with restaurants such as Avenue Deli, Royal Indian Bistro and Clay Oven publicly supporting the bylaw.
Other restaurant owners said the change could hinder customer service and prevent customers from getting the utensils they need.
According to the official motion, the town’s Board of Health would enforce the proposed bylaw. A restaurant’s second violation would result in a $25 fine; a third, $50.
“We are passionate about reducing waste, but we also don’t want to be this burdensome government bylaw,” said Alex Tsouvalas, a member of the Lexington Waste Reduction Task Force. “We want to support these small businesses. We wanted to engage them and have them be part of the dialogue.”
On the surface, the proposed policy may seem trivial, supporters say, but they believe “skipping the stuff” is an important step in Lexington’s commitment to reducing waste.
“Our Skip the Stuff” bylaw initiative, I think, folds really well into this landscape with the town,” said Janet Kern, a petitioner of the bylaw and vice president of the nonprofit LexZeroWaste. “More people are aware of this unnecessary waste cluttering their drawers at home, just being thrown right into the trash. So, I think people are ready for this.”
If passed, the bylaw would take effect Jan. 1, 2027.
This story was written by a journalism student in BU’s Newsroom program, a partnership between the university, The Lexington Observer and other news organizations in the Boston area.
Three out of four Lexington students meet grade-level standards in English. But for students with disabilities, it’s one in three. That 44-point gap, detailed in a new report conducted by consulting firm New Solutions K12, highlights persistent academic achievement gaps within the district.
The January review praised Lexington Public Schools for investing in specialized staff and resources but found that students with disabilities, about 14% of the student body, have not rebounded academically from the pandemic.
Mona Roy, a candidate for School Committee and mother of two neurodivergent students, said the report’s findings were “highly predictable.” Her younger son graduated from Lexington High School in 2022.
“The report confirms what many of us feared: while general education students have largely recovered academically, students with disabilities have not,” she said. “As parents, we can support our children and reinforce learning at home, but that is fundamentally different from the work of trained educators.”
“Since children start off in different places on their learning journeys, we want to be mindful of not only absolute achievement, but also growth,” Lexington Public Schools Superintendent Julie Hackett said. “If a student’s MCAS scores are very low, but their growth scores show gains each year compared to their cohort of peers, that is an important signal of progress.”
“Students whose families can afford private, external support may ‘bump up’ the district’s reading scores, while students who do not receive adequate instruction or services may be left behind,” Miles-Mason said. When students with disabilities or socioeconomic disadvantages have lower achievement in an otherwise high-performing district, she said, it is often an indication that they’re not getting the appropriate instruction.
The report found that while 75% of students in grades 3-8 meet or exceed grade-level expectations in English, just one in three students with disabilities is proficient. Similarly, nearly 80% of all Lexington students meet grade-level expectations for math, compared with just over a third of students with disabilities.
Hackett cited limited access to the core curriculum and insufficient time with subject-matter experts as primary factors contributing to the gaps. “Not only do all students need access, but some students, depending on their abilities, may need more time with people who know the subject matter best,” she said. “Gaps will close with more time on learning and better access to the core curriculum.”
Roy said she was struck by the report’s staff allocation findings. Literacy specialists spend 22% of their time directly with students and math interventionists spend 18%.
“This raises important questions about how we structure educator work and whether we are directing resources to where they have the greatest impact,” Roy said.
The literary specialist and math interventionists split their time among direct student services, coaching, meetings and paperwork, planning and preparation and other activities. Other activities, including communication tasks, professional development, school duties, lunch and travel between buildings, took up the largest share of their time, according to the report. The literary specialist spent 32% of the workday on “other activities” while math interventionists spent 50%.
The report described staff as “hardworking” and “collaborative” and notes that educators care deeply about all students. However, it recommended that Lexington Public Schools adopt a consistent, districtwide reading program, provide extra support for struggling students and put more focus on promoting lifelong independence for students with severe disabilities.
“When we provide intensive one-on-one support throughout a student’s school experience, we may inadvertently create dependence rather than independence,” Hackett said. The district will focus on teaching self-advocacy, problem-solving and independence skills in the future, she said.
The report comes as schools across Massachusetts continue to recover from pandemic-related learning loss. MCAS results remain below pre-pandemic performance statewide, with about 42% of students meeting expectations in 2025 compared with about half before COVID-19. No student group has fully regained its pre-pandemic test scores statewide, according to WBUR.
Lexington schools have recovered at a faster rate than the state overall and many peer districts. But students with disabilities still have not returned to pre-pandemic scores, according to the report.
“The learning loss was real, and our most vulnerable students were disproportionately impacted,” said Roy. “That damage lingers.”
Roy described navigating the pandemic shutdown as a parent as “deeply frustrating.”
“In our household, we pushed our son to keep working through the pandemic, alongside family death and separation. He did not get a semester off,” Roy said. “[Students with disabilities] face an uphill battle where they are either progressing forward or sliding backward. There is no standing still.”
In order to address these gaps, the report called for a redesign of the severe-needs special education program, including stronger reading instruction, extra support for students who struggle, as well as programs that help students with disabilities gain long-term independence.
“Lexington’s special education system has been in place for decades now, and it’s a community-built system,” Hackett said. “Whether and how we make changes to special education delivery models will depend on the community’s willingness to try new things and explore different and perhaps better ways to address our students’ needs.” The district will host community workshops to identify top priorities, she said.
Roy said she worries that under financial pressure the school may cut necessary services that benefit students. Still, Roy sees the report’s findings as an opportunity to make changes that would have been harder to justify before.
“When we receive difficult news about outcomes, we can choose to reframe and reflect—and then recover,” Roy said. “Our students deserve that honest effort, and our educators deserve the support to deliver it.”
This story was written by a journalism student in BU’s Newsroom program, a partnership between the university, The Lexington Observer and other news organizations in the Boston area.
Volunteers at the Lexington Food Pantry served more than 600 people and 211 families Saturday, the third time the pantry served more than 200 families in the organization’s 35-year history.
The surge followed a temporary pause in the federal food assistance program in early November that increased demand beyond the typical holiday spike, according to Usha Thakrar, co-coordinator and food pantry board member. “We are seeing an increase in weekly volume,” she said. “People are anxious.”
The pantry, run out of the basement of the Church of our Redeemer in Lexington, has operated most Saturdays since 1990, serving Lexington residents and workers without income verification. Volunteers distributed extra food on Saturday because the food bank will be closed the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
While no turkeys were given out on Saturday, the pantry does try to give out more Thanksgiving themed items. Bags were often filled with pumpkins, cranberry sauce, stuffing and pumpkin pie.
Susan Perullo, who has been volunteering for more than 20 years, said demand remained high even after federal food benefits resumed. “SNAP benefits only go so far,” she said. “You can only buy certain things. You can’t buy toiletries, shampoo and paper goods … so people come here for that as well.”
The pantry receives donations from local businesses, including When Pigs Fly Breads, which donates about 24 loaves a week. The nonprofit also partners with Beantown Baby Diaper Bank, where families are able to receive donations in Lexington once a month, or in other locations across the Boston area.
Despite Lexington’s median household income of more than $200,000 and a stubborn perception that everyone in Lexington is wealthy, organizers said need persists in many subsets of the population.
Lexington resident James Adamson, a congregant at Temple Isaiah, was aware of the food pantry, but suggested that others in Lexington may not realize there’s a need for a food pantry in the community. “I would be surprised if you went to more affluent neighborhoods and asked people, ‘Do you go to the food pantry? Do you know one?’ I’d be surprised if they did,” Adamson said.
Aviram Cohen has been volunteering at the pantry for more than a decade. He said the connection with neighbors is what brings him back every year. “It’s an obligation to be part of the community, serve the community, give back,” he said. “We need to be able to hug people, and this is one of the ways to hug people. To give them the feeling that we care about them and we will support them whenever they are in need.”
The pantry accepts food, financial contributions and volunteer applications on its website.
