Highland’s History Can’t Be Forgotten

Highland is filled with character. With history. It’s been standing here since 1955. Many generations have passed through these halls, thousands of students have left their marks on these grounds. But soon, Highland is getting a needed upgrade.
This past November, the bond to rebuild Highland and West and to build a new East fieldhouse was passed. This means that, breaking ground in 2026, the long-awaited new Highland will start to become a reality.
As exciting as it is that Highland is getting rebuilt, it means we’re losing a lot of the history that makes this building the Highland we know and love.
Many of the classrooms have walls or columns painted in bright colors. Posters hang in every room. Student projects are displayed on walls, waiting to inspire future students. Some teachers have murals from past students on their walls. The pillars in the commons were painted by past students (ahem, the Leonardo DiCaprio shrine…). And the tiles in the art hall are filled with art, too.
It’s important that we don’t forget the spirit of Highland in the new school. These walls are what makes Highland so special, and we can’t let all that be forgotten because of a shiny new building.
But one of the proposals for the new building could prevent teachers and students from making it a place that represents us. With this proposal, teachers would share the classrooms. Each teacher would have an office, where they would be during their prep period, then they would move into a classroom to teach. The goal with this proposal was that all the space was utilized and there were no empty classrooms.
While the proposal might save space, it’s destroying the opportunity for teachers to make their classrooms unique. Teachers love decorating their rooms to represent them and their class. And because every classroom is unique, I know we can all easily picture our favorite teachers’ room. This proposal would take that away.
Highland just wouldn’t be the same with bare classrooms. The posters on the walls are motivating and the art on the walls is inspiring. With an older building, you can paint on the walls. You can fill them with posters and give them character. A new building could mean the end of that.
“I’m a little bit afraid, with the new building, that all the new buildings are very sterile, very clean, very organized. And they seem to like to keep it that way. They’re not opening up for something else that’s really unique,” Highland art teacher Tera Hunter said. “You walk into Highland and there’s this dispute that [the art] makes it messy, but I disagree. I think it gives it character. It gives an insight into students; they change each year and I hope there’s a way to recapture that [in the new building].”
Hunter’s classroom, like many others, is filled with posters and artwork from past students. There’s so much history crammed in, something that won’t be easily reclaimed in a new building.
“I think what makes a building a building is the people in the building. So, I think if we’re making sure we honor the people that made Highland what it is, [that’s important],” Highland principal Jeremy Chatterton said. “So, obviously, we’re going to still have a section dedicated to Dean Collett. We’re going to try and make sure that we’re honoring the history of the past of Highland. I think that’s what’s most important.”
No matter how excited we are about the new building, with its less finicky heating system and more predictable elevators, we can’t forget to pass on the spirit of Highland to future Rams.