EDC+503+Su13+-+Rogers+High+School

__ Rogers High School, Newport RI __
**School Overview and Demographics**

Rogers High School is a small, comprehensive public high school located in the southern part of Newport, Rhode Island. With a 40 acre campus that includes the Newport Area Career and Technical Center (NACTC), the campus also has access to a significant amount of athletic facilities for its students. These include ten tennis courts, a track and field, two soccer fields, two baseball fields, and two basketball courts, as well as van access to sailing at the Newport Yacht Club. To match this abundance of facilities provided for its students, Rogers has a rather large faculty as well. According to the 2006 SALT report, along with the typical school administration and staff, Rogers has a behavior specialist, a School to Career Coordinator, a part-time Academic Lab Coordinator, a part-time Parent Outreach Coordinator, seven para-educators, and more. Unfortunately, even with all of these resources, students are not reaching their full potential, perhaps due to the lack of parent participation and teacher motivation seen in the SALT Report.

In 2006, the staff mentioned above served a diverse 765 students. Of these students, 66.6% are white, 18.2% are black, 10.3% are Hispanic, and 2.7% are Native American (SALT Report, 2006). Compared to other Rhode Island schools, this can be considered a more diverse student body since the average distribution in Rhode Island is 76.9% white, 5.2% black, 12.1% Hispanic, and 0.4% Native American (United Census Bureau, 2012). Twenty-two percent of these students were in Special Education classes; 1.9% were limited English proficient (LEP) students, and 38% received free or reduced-price lunch (SALT Report, 2006). According to InfoWorks, in 2012 only 13% of students received Special Education, but subsidized lunch increased to 45%; and the number of students receiving ESL increased to 3%. These percentages are only slightly lower than statewide (InfoWorks, 2012).

Student Body Description and Achievement
Though it appears that students at Rogers High are not interested in being in school or continuing their education after high school, the dropout rate is much lower than the state’s. In 2011, Rogers had an 88% attendance rate versus a 91% attendance rate statewide, and a 41% chronic absenteeism rate versus the state's 17% (InfoWorks, 2012). According to the 2011 student survey, the biggest reason for skipping class was boredom followed by "another reason". Only 27.2% of students felt as though most or all of their teachers kept them interested in class, compared to 31.9% of students statewide. Even though most students reported having involvement from their parents, teachers, and community about school and their future plans, 10.2% of students said they do not have specific plans after high school versus only 8.1% of students statewide who said this. The percentages of all other choices regarding plans after high school were less than those statewide, and 10.4% fewer students plan to continue their schooling after graduating from Rogers versus statewide (SurveyWorks, 2011-2012). Rogers' four-year graduation rate is less than the state's by 3.6% (73.5% versus 77.1%). The dropout rate, however, is significantly less than the state's. Nineteen percent of students at Rogers dropped out in the 2011 school year versus only 11.9% in Rhode Island (InfoWorks, 2012).

Along with what appears to be a lack of dedication for school, the students’ quality of life seems to be relatively poor. According to SurveyWorks (2011-2012), Rogers High School has significantly more drug use than the state; over 27.7% more drug use occurred at Rogers than the statewide average. Also, while most students said they felt safe in school in the 2011 student survey provided by Infoworks, over half the student body felt as though students are punished unequally for breaking the same rule. The SALT report (2006) commented on this by saying that diversity was an issue that needed to be addressed because some students who were ethnically, socio-economically, and academically diverse mentioned that they felt unequally treated. This issue was also seen in the student survey in regards to bullying. When compared to statewide percentages, the amount of bullying is only slightly higher at Rogers. However, over 50% of students in Rhode Island are bullied at least once a year, with nearly 12% reporting 5 or more incidents of bullying a year (SurveyWorks, 2011-2012). So even though Rogers is in line with the statewide amount of bullying, some may argue that 50% of the student body being bullied is unacceptable. The student survey also reports that students are more likely to be bullied because of their race, religion, or a learning disability at Rogers (SurveyWorks, 2011-2012).

In regards to student performance, Rogers is slightly worse than the state when comparing the 2011 NECAP Assessments. Only 26% of students were proficient in 11th Grade Math compared to 30% for the state; 72% were proficient in 11th Grade Reading compared to 76% statewide; 42% of Rogers' students were proficient in 11th Grade Writing versus 51% statewide; and 29% were proficient in 11th Grade Science versus 32% of the state (Infoworks, 2012).

According to the student survey (2011-2012), over half of the student body felt as though their teachers were not clear and helpful, and that they were not being pushed academically. However, the SALT report (2006) felt as though many students at Rogers could problem solve, write, and read effectively. It comments that students can explain their problem solving in writing, orally, and with graphic representation. The report also concluded that the state assessment for math problem solving showed a steady increase of students who met or exceeded the standard over a four-year period (SALT Report, 2006). However, according to Infoworks (2011-2012), Rogers has had a decrease in proficiency in 11th Grade Math, Reading, and Writing; only 11th Grade Science has improved since the 2009 school year, as seen in the following table.


 * || 2009-10 || 2011-12 ||
 * 11th Grade Math || 32% || 26% ||
 * 11th Grade Reading || 83% || 72% ||
 * 11th Grade Writing || 58% || 42% ||
 * 11th Grade Science || 17% || 29% ||

The 2005 Report Card classified Rogers as a Moderately Performing with Caution School (SALT Report, 2006). Of the 9 ELA targets assessed, none were missed; and of the 9 Mathematics targets assessed, only 1 was missed (students with disabilities missed the target score by 2.6 points). With the same target scores, the state missed 1 ELA target and 4 Math targets (SALT Report, 2006). Unfortunately Rogers still did not make AYP due to insufficient progress according to InfoWorks (2010-2011).


 * Parent Involvement and Teacher Surveys **

Unfortunately, according to SurveyWorks (2011-2012), parent participation in the survey was only 4.2%, so as a result no data was collected from parents and thus no data was posted. This shows that parent involvement might not be as high as the student survey expressed. Another troubling fact that was seen in the 2011 survey was the teacher-practice section. Nearly every category that teachers rated themselves in was 10% - 20% lower than teachers statewide. For example, only 52.4% of Rogers' teachers said they weekly/daily ask students to participate in small group discussions versus 82.5% of teachers statewide; and 66.7% of Rogers' teachers weekly/daily ask students to use facts to support their opinions in writing compared to 82.9% of teachers statewide. The two categories that teachers at Rogers rated themselves higher in were allowing students to make up work after they are absent and giving students multiple opportunities to improve their grades (SurveyWorks, 2011-2012). From this, it could be concluded that the teacher morale is quite lower at Rogers, and that they don't have high expectations for their students, but rather want to give their students passing grades without putting in the effort.


 * In Conclusion **

Overall, Rogers High School has a lot of work that needs to be done in terms of student, parent, and teacher effort, participation, and morale. The facilities and capability to be a great school are all there for Rogers High, but the student body needs to feel supported and pushed by their parents and teachers in order to perform at a higher level. With a diverse student body, bullying will most likely be an issue, but teachers can help to minimize it. The effects of bullying can be seen academically but also emotionally on students, especially with the amount of drug use that occurs at Rogers. Rogers' chronic absenteeism rate is also reflective of its students' view towards school. If students don't feel supported by their parents and/or teachers, they may not take school seriously and can resort to bullying, drug use, and other forms of self-harm which will significantly lower their academic achievements. The fact that a report on parent perception of the school could not be generated due to lack of response is extremely troubling. Although the 2005 Report Card classifies Rogers as "Moderately Performing with Caution", now Rogers may be seen as more "cautionary" than "performing". Rogers is declining academically, seen in the NECAP scores, and needs to find a way to improve the morale of the school.

Sources:
InfoWorks. (2011-2012). Rogers High School. []

RIDE. (2006). The SALT Visit Team Report. []

SurveyWorks. (2011-2012). School Level Report Rogers High School. []

United States Census Bureau. 2007-2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. []