After former Principal Andrew Stephens accepted a position at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, associate principal Andrew Baker was selected to take his place and will serve as the Interim Principal of Lexington High School during the 2023-2024 school year.

The initial search did not yield an ideal long-term candidate to take on the role of LHS’s principal, so the superintendent turned to scouting out an interim principal. Baker, now in his 19th year at LHS, had served as associate principal for five years under Stephens. The role encompassed various tasks that were key to the functioning of the school.

“I was communicating about all kinds of things: grades, testing, MCAS, facilities, room bookings, field trips, just a thousand little things that are super important to a school but maybe aren’t the things that are the most visible to everybody on the outside,” Baker said.

Baker describes how his current role is much more public-facing compared to his former responsibilities. Baker advocates for the needs of the school community through face-to-face discussions with students and staff

“It’s about making sure that on the whole you believe that students are getting what they need in classrooms and that you’re supporting teachers in being the best that they can possibly be,” Baker said. 

Baker often immerses himself in the learning environment of LHS with regular classroom visits, engaging with students and the curriculum.

“If you think that I’m a little weird or strange or nerdy when I come into the classrooms, and I ask you questions, it’s because I’m genuinely all those things,” Baker said. 

During his classroom visits, Baker sees his love for learning reflected in the students at LHS, especially in their drive to perform well academically. However, as much as Baker appreciates the academic rigor and drive at LHS, he hopes to emphasize more than just grades.

“I want us to try to talk more about our core values and live out our core values with one another. I want us to recognize things beyond just achievement on tests and grades and GPA,” Baker said. 

Overall, Baker seeks to understand the perspectives of others at LHS, and places importance on communicating with others to create a more supportive school community.

“I want students to know that if they have an issue, they can come to me or Mr. Melia, and we’ll talk about it. It doesn’t mean that we’ll necessarily see eye to eye or we’ll have an easy solution, but I think that student experiences are really important,” Baker said.