Lexington Public Schools is expanding its response to racist and antisemitic graffiti found at Lexington High School on the first day of school. The district is pairing student activities with community partnerships and confronting a pattern of incidents that reaches back to Diamond Middle School.

Three students discovered the N-word and a Nazi hakenkreuz on the wall of a boys' bathroom stall on Sept. 2, the opening day of the 2026-2027 school year, and reported it to the dean. As we reported Sept. 9, Principal Andrew Baker notified families and called the graffiti "deplorable."

The district's next step is a Thursday, Sept. 10, extended homeroom at Lexington High where students will create artwork and affirmations tied to the district's "We All Belong" core value. Baker wrote to families that the session will not erase the harm but will shape the messages and symbols students see in hallways and classrooms.

Any student found responsible faces disciplinary action along with mandatory education about the history and impact of the slur and symbol, Baker wrote. He asked students with information to tell a trusted adult. No one had been publicly identified as responsible as of Sept. 9.

The high school incident is not isolated. Similar graffiti appeared in a boys' bathroom at William Diamond Middle School in December 2025. That was the third graffiti incident since 2023 that made Jewish students at the school uncomfortable, the Lexington Observer reported. Diamond Principal Johnny Cole wrote to families that the December graffiti included an antisemitic neo-Nazi symbol and a racist anti-Black epithet, and explicitly named him in a derogatory manner.

In response to the Diamond incident, the district hired a third party to deliver a lesson on antisemitism to students in May 2026. That lesson drew mixed feedback from parents, according to the Observer.

Superintendent Julie Hackett told the Lexington Observer that administrators spent the summer in a "Summer Work Intensive," where they planned how to address all forms of hate, including racism and antisemitism. Hackett said the district will keep working with Lexington United Against Antisemitism (LUAA), the Association of Black Citizens of Lexington (ABCL) and other community groups.

"We're going to continue to partner with community groups like LUAA, ABCL, and others — and keep doing the deep work on combating racism, antisemitism, and all forms of hate," Hackett told the Observer.

The district has not announced a School Committee meeting or policy vote focused on the incidents.