School leadership creates new spaces for work and relaxation

Leland Culver, Midway Reporter

Student Council, the Principal’s Advisory Committee and the administration have been working since last quarter to set up and furnish new spaces for students to work and relax.

Ms. Weber said she had been working to improve the school’s spaces for work and study since the buildings were renovated in 2015-16, but delays from the renovations and a conference about school spaces attended by some administrators pushed the plan back.

“People felt that we lost some sort of community space,” she said. “Many felt that the space looks rather sterile.”

The tables and chairs in the spaces connecting Judd and the high school were put up right after the renovations in those areas as the first step in this long-term process. This year, several large pillows and bean bags were placed in the gathering area by the Gordon Parks Assembly Hall as another early step.

According to Lab Schools Director Charlie Abelmann, students meeting with representatives from Dialogos, Lab’s strategic planning consultants, expressed concerns about U-High spaces. Dr. Abelmann said that students in the meeting felt that there weren’t enough informal spaces to hang out.

Ms. Weber also said that she has been looking at changing the furniture setups in classrooms and painting more murals in the hallways.

She said, “We want to warm the place up a bit.”