Maria Hastings Elementary School

It looks like the pre-2009 rating didn't rate the principal so well, but the other 2 rate the principal high, and it would be a shame not to recognize that the current Principal (Principal Lipsitz) started in the 2008/2009 school year. She is terrific. I think if you're looking at all the Lexington Public Schools, don't get caught up in over analyzing whether a 98 MCAS score vs a 97 makes one school better than the other because you are really splitting hairs and trying too hard to find which is "best" - they differ only by a matter of small degree. The community as a whole embraces education and that bodes well for all schools in the system. In each school you will find highly dedicated parents and equally dedicated teachers and staff working very hard to educate the kids and make them into solid citizens.
--Submitted by a parent

Hastings is excellent, like all the Lexington elementary schools, and our son (who is very bright) is totally challenged and excited to go to school. He's only in kindergarten, but my initial fears that it would be TOO academically focused were unfounded. He IS learning reading/puzzling in leaps and bounds, but his social learning is JUST as important to the teachers. The school has an All School Meeting every Friday with the entire student body attending to watch one another, like watching a group of students demonstrating their jump rope technique, listening to a student playing piano, or hearing from a class embarking on an environmental protection project or doing a skit about equal rights. Hastings seems to be the most diverse elementary school in Lexington and the one that makes the biggest efforts to celebrate that diversity. We LOVE Hastings!
--Submitted by a parent

Hastings is an incredible school. Everyone is very welcoming and the teachers are top notch. The office staff and Principal Lipsitz are wonderful. My children have loved attending Hastings.
--Submitted by a parent