Lexington City Schools

10/08/2026

LCS school nutrition manager, Mary Poe, brought back the “Crunch Heard ‘Round the Commonwealth”, sharing apples with all students and staff at both schools today in celebration of Virginia Farm to School Week. 🍎 

10/08/2026

Lexington City Schools is proud be in its third year of the “Difference Makers” staff recognition program. Each quarter, LCS employees may nominate a colleague who they believe is making a difference as a valued member of our school community. 

Congratulations to our LCS Quarter 1 “Difference Makers” 🎉 :
Cathy Cooper - School Nutrition, HWES
Becky Sanders - Science teacher, LDMS
Kendall Hemmings - Paraprofessional, HWES

We are so proud of you and are grateful for your contributions to our schools! 💙

10/08/2026

LDMS participated in the “Crunch Heard Acorss the Commonwealth” today. 🍎

10/08/2026

10/08/2026

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Harrington Waddell Elementary School and Lylburn Downing Middle School Earn Virginia’s Highest Accountability Rating
LEXINGTON, Va. — Both schools in Lexington City Schools (LCS) have earned a “Distinguished” rating, the highest designation a school can achieve under the Virginia Department of Education’s accountability system. The VDOE publicly released the ratings October 7th for the 2026–2027 school year, based on student performance during the 2025–2026 school year.
“Our distinguished rating highlights the heart and dedication our teachers bring every day,” said Division Director of Testing, Jen Hall. “As a small school division, our teachers wear many hats, from managing division pacing guides and daily lesson planning, to providing remediation, intervention, and enrichment programs for students. Our administrators work hard to ensure our teachers have the resources necessary to meet students' needs. It takes a team to build success, and every staff member makes a difference in the success of our schools and students. I am proud to be part of a team that is committed to putting students first.”
The ratings reflect the school division’s strong track record of performance in the second year of Virginia’s accountability system. Based on last year’s results, Harrington Waddell Elementary School earned a Distinguished rating, while Lylburn Downing Middle School earned an On Track rating.
LCS credits the schools’ strong performance results to high-impact instruction and responsive interventions and student support programs provided by school and division staff. Additionally, collaborative planning efforts with a focused alignment to state standards, purposeful family engagement and partnerships, and consistent support from the school board and community contribute to the school division’s achievements. LCS boasts a commitment to providing professional learning and collaboration opportunities for its staff, ensuring the district is engaged in best practices with a goal of student success for every child.
“Our school division is very proud to have both of our schools earn the state’s highest rating as well as exhibit continued growth and improvement across multiple measures,” said Superintendent Rebecca Walters. “Our students come to school and are active learners while they are in school. Our teachers and support staff work hard to ensure each student feels a sense of belonging and pride in their learning. Our families are engaged partners, and our school and division leaders work tirelessly to provide the best educational experiences possible for all students. We want to thank our school board and City of Lexington leaders for their ongoing support and encouragement. We are excited to celebrate these achievements with our community, and we are committed to continued excellence.”

10/08/2026

It was a beautiful day for these young “engineers” in Spencer Golladay’s “Design and Build” elective class at LDMS to launch their rockets at Jordan‘s Point Park today. 

10/06/2026

Voters in the city of Lexington will soon decide whether to approve a proposed 1% local sales tax for eligible school facility projects. The additional 1% local sales tax would allow school facility costs to be supported by taxable purchases made throughout the community rather than relying only on local property owners.

Residents, visitors, students, and other nonresidents would contribute when they make taxable purchases locally. This creates a broader funding base for eligible school construction, renovation, and modernization projects.

The proposed tax would add 1% to purchases already subject to Virginia sales tax and would take effect only if approved by a majority of voters in the City of Lexington.

Community informational meetings have been scheduled for:
Thursday, October 15th at 12:00PM at the Public Library
Tuesday, October 20th at 7:00PM at LDMS
Thursday, October 29th at 5:00PM at City Hall

You can also find more information and answers to FAQs, www.lexedu.org and www.lexingtonva.gov

10/05/2026

It’s a beautiful night at RCHS for the Thompson Turf War powderpuff football game fundraiser. 🏈 This annual event honors the late Sandy Thompson, RCHS social studies teacher, with funds raised supporting a memorial scholarship in her name and also supporting Jason White, former RCHS teacher and varsity football coach, as he battles cancer. Come on out for a great night of football and fundraising!

10/03/2026

These beautiful houses were made by middle school students in Tracy Bond’s ceramics class at LDMS. 🏠