Rogers High School (RHS) is located near the southern portion of the City of Newport, Rhode Island. Founded in 1873 and named for its benefactor, William S. Rogers, the high school was originally located near the city’s center. It has been at its present location, occupying just over forty acres, since 1957. Numerous renovations and upgrades have taken place over the years and are still in progress. Newport is a small city and the school is only minutes from the both commercial and governmental areas.  The main building and the Newport Area Career and Technical Center (NACTC) occupy 160,000 square feet of the lush campus. The campus includes a multi-purpose athletic field, a quarter mile track, six tennis courts, and ample parking. Other athletic fields are located at Murphy Field, which is within walking distance. Ballard Park, a nature preserve, is across from the front entrance to the school and is frequently used by science classes. Founded in 1639, the City of Newport was incorporated in 1784. As the southernmost municipality on Aquidneck Island, located in Narragansett Bay, it is known for its many historical landmarks and spectacular beaches.  In addition to its many tourist attractions it is also noted for Naval Station Newport, a home to over 20 different commands, including the U.S. Naval War College. While Newport has numerous cultural activities of its own, it is also within easy driving distance of its state capital, Providence, and the metropolitan city of Boston.

According to the 2017 United States census, Newport has a diverse population of 83,460 residents with 90% white, 4.5% Black, 1.9% Asian, 6% Hispanic, and 0.6% Native American. English is the primary language spoken by 93% of the school district’s student population, with 7% of students coming from homes that are bilingual or English language learners. While known by its moniker “City by the Sea” and as a vacation community, Newport is also an urban, socio-economically diverse city with many of the same problems as other urban cities in Rhode Island.   There are three public housing projects in the city of Newport and numerous Section 8 housing units. The March 2018 unemployment rate for Newport is 4.5%, while the unemployment rate for the state of Rhode Island is 4.5%. In 2017, 61% of the school population lived below the low-income level established by the Federal Free Lunch Program.

In addition to Rogers High School with a population of 671 students and 74 teachers and is one of the 52 high schools in the state and includes students in grades 9-12. In 2017, the school population was 44% white, 22% Hispanic, 20% African-American, 2% Asian, 1% Native American, and 11% multi-racial. All students are required to earn four credits in English, four credits in math, three credits in social studies, three credits in science (minimum of 2 in laboratory sciences), two credits in physical education/health, 0.5 credits in arts and 0.5 credits in technology. In addition to required courses there are a number of electives offered.  These include two world languages, fine and performing arts, and a variety of science, social studies, and math courses beyond the basic requirements. Army JROTC is offered and may be taken as an alternative to or in addition to physical education. Advanced Placement courses are offered in Math, Science, English and History. Students may also elect to take courses at the Newport Area Career and Technical Center which is located on the Rogers campus. In order to obtain credit for a course, successful completion of required benchmarks is mandatory. Students who miss benchmarks are given the opportunity to meet them through the Academic Recovery Program.  All students are required to complete a National History Day project during their junior year and a Senior Project during their senior year. The Senior Project demonstrates their fulfillment of the school’s academic, social and civic expectations for student learning. Rogers High School offers a variety of clubs including anime, robotics, Best Buddies, student council, and also performance activities including jazz ensemble, Theater Company, band, orchestra, chorus, and performing dance. Additional activities are offered through the Newport Community School. Most students participate in one or more of the wide variety of activities offered to the

Students at Rogers High School are recognized for academic, athletic, and artistic achievements at a National Honor Society induction ceremony, seasonal athletic banquets, a Black History month assembly, JROTC awards assembly, an annual awards breakfast, SkillsUSA competitions and Honors Night, as well as graduation. Every year students in the junior and senior classes receive scholarship money in excess of $300,000.  These scholarships come from businesses, benefactors, individual community members, and community organizations. Students have received full ROTC scholarships, in addition to numerous college scholarships. The Newport School Committee routinely recognizes the achievements of Rogers High School and Newport Area Career and Technical students.