Often described as the center of Lexington High School, the Quad (short for quadrangle) is seen as the heart of the school. Students walk through the Quad several times a day on their way to various classes, and the rainbow circle in the middle adds some color to the surrounding landscape. But the Quad itself wasn’t always there.
“We have something that could be called a California style campus, but it wasn’t by design. What happened is that the student population and body kept growing and the needs kept growing. They started building the outer buildings in the 1960s. And that’s when this sort of quad area was created,” said Andrew Baker, the principal of LHS.
The rainbow circle, recognized among students as a defining feature of the Quad, was not always there either. The LHS Sources of Strength club first painted the circle in 2015, and has made it a tradition ever since.
“The Sources of Strength club started in 2015 because there were a lot of mental health issues, especially in Lexington. Each color of the circle represents a Source of Strength, to represent good things in people’s lives and for suicide prevention,” said Maggie Shih, one of LHS’s school counselors.
This painted circle is renewed every year at the annual Painting Pizza parties that the Sources of Strength club hosts — just one example of the many celebrations that happen at the Quad.
“It’s always been a day for middle schoolers to become acclimatized to the high school and meet people who are in the high school Sources club. You, and some other kids, all paint one slice of color, and you work together to make sure every crevice is filled. It honestly makes you reflect on how you’ve done throughout the year, and sets you up for the next school year,” said Abhaya Kuchibhotla, a senior at LHS.
Aside from events, the Quad is also a gathering place for students.
“It was the place that my friends and I would gather every day right after school. It’s where people see each other and meet each other and talk together. I think that is really important too, especially for a school campus like ours, which has such a huge population,” said Lily Zhu, a Latin teacher at LHS and former LHS student.
Apart from being a place of community, many students see the walk through the Quad, especially in rainy or snowy weather, as a frustrating experience. But the walk outside does do some good for LHS students.
“The Quad breaks up your school day. Instead of being stuck in buildings, you have to go outside and see the sky,” said Rory Burton, a junior at LHS.
With the announcement of a new LHS building, the Quad will continue to stay as the center of the school, although it will be relocated and renewed.
“If you go up to the third story elevation of the new high school, there will be a large area that is open to the sky that will have a sort of roof garden or a terrace to it that students can go out onto,” said Baker.
Apart from the main Quad, there will also be other, scattered spaces throughout the new high school for students to use that function similarly to today’s Quad.
“The design of the new high school is sort of like a series of macaronis. There’s around three macaroni and in between each macaroni, in those curved spaces, there are more opportunities to create outdoor spaces and places for people to sit outside,” said Baker.
But, for now, the Quad is expected to remain a central part of daily life at LHS.
“The LHS Quad is the center of the school. That’s where all of the big things happen, and it’s a place of community. I have pretty fond memories in the Quad, now that I think about it,” said Burton.