William S. Rogers High School is a public high school in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

and a part of

Newport Public Schools Newport Public Schools (NPS) is the public school system of Newport, Rhode Island. History NPS hired Jack Ambrogi as superintendent in 2005 and Colleen Jermain as superintendent in January 2014. Schools Its schools are Claiborne Pell School, Fra ...

. Other public high schools include the Paul Crowley MET School and the Career & Technical School.

History

The school was founded by educator William Sanford Rogers in 1873 and was named for him. The original Rogers High School building was on Church Street, the school moved to a building on Broadway in 1905 and the old building became the Thayer School and later a Boys and Girls Club. In 1957, the school moved to its current location on Wickham Road and the old Broadway building became the location for Thompson Middle School. An expansion to the school, The Newport Area Career and Technical Center, was completed in 1968.

Extracurricular

The school's newspaper ''The Red and Black'' was first published in 1920, but ceased regular publication in the early 2000s. The school began their football program in 1890 and their basketball program in 1905. The school has the second oldest JROTC program in the country, founded in 1916. It also holds the Honor Unit With Distinction rank, the highest unit rank possible.

School song

"Fair Rogers " is sung at every commencement ceremony. Words by Harold B. Walcott, Music by H. S. Hendy.

Alumni

Edwin T. Banning Edwin Thomas Banning (1864–1940) was an American architect from Providence, Rhode Island. Banning, the fourth of six children, was born in Danielson, Connecticut, to Rev. Carlos and Harriet Elizabeth (Pitman) Banning. Natives of Newport, Rho ...

, architect *

Bebe Buell Beverle Lorence "Bebe" Buell (born July 14, 1953) is an American singer and model. She was ''Playboy'' magazine's November 1974 Playmate of the Month. Buell moved to New York in 1972 after signing a modeling contract with Eileen Ford, and garnere ...

, singer and model * William T. Bull, college football coach *

Frank Corridon Frank Joseph Corridon 'Fiddler''(November 25, 1880 – February 21, 1941) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for three teams between the and seasons. Listed at 170 lb., Corridon was a switch-hitter and threw right-handed. H ...

, Major League Baseball pitcher (1904–1910) * The Cowsills, 1960s singing act *

Tanya Donelly Tanya Donelly (born July 14, 1966) is an American Grammy Award-nominated singer-songwriter and guitarist based in New England who co-founded Throwing Muses with her step-sister Kristin Hersh. Donelly went on to co-form the alternative rock band ...

, co-founder and guitarist of the band

Throwing Muses Throwing Muses are an American alternative rock band formed in 1981 in Newport, Rhode Island, United States, that toured and recorded extensively until 1997, when its members began concentrating more on other projects. The group was originall ...

, lead vocalist of the band

Belly Belly may refer to: Anatomy * The abdomen, the part of the body between the pelvis and the thorax; or the stomach ** A beer belly, an overhang of fat above the waist, presumed to be caused by regular beer drinking ** Belly dance * The fleshy, cent ...

and the guitarist for The Breeders *

Joanna Going Joanna Catherine Going (born July 22, 1963) is an American actress known for the television series ''Kingdom'', ''House of Cards'', ''Mad Men'' and the movie ''Wyatt Earp''. Early life Going was born in Washington, DC, the eldest of six childre ...

, actress * Paul Gordon, keyboardist and guitarist with

The B-52's The B-52's, also styled as The B-52s, are an American new wave band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, keyboards, synth bass), Cindy Wilson (vocals, p ...

and

New Radicals New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

* Kristin Hersh, co-founder, vocalist, and guitarist of the band

* P. H. Horgan III,

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

player *

John Howard Benson John Howard Benson (July 6, 1901 – February 23, 1956) was an American calligrapher, stonecarver, incised letter designer, author, and educator. Career He was educated at Rogers High School, the National Academy of Design, and the Art Students ...

, calligrapher and stone carver *

Van Johnson Charles Van Dell Johnson (August 25, 1916 – December 12, 2008) was an American film, television, theatre and radio actor. He was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer during and after World War II. Johnson was described as the embodiment o ...

, actor *

William Stevens Lawton William Stevens Lawton (May 16, 1900 – February 26, 1993) was a lieutenant general in the United States Army and served as the Army's Comptroller. Early life Lawton was born on May 16, 1900, in Newport, Rhode Island, and graduated from Newport' ...

, graduated from Rogers in 1917 and attained the rank of

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

Dorothy McCullough Lee Dorothy McCullough Lee (April 1, 1901 – February 19, 1981) was an American politician and attorney in the U.S. state of Oregon. She was the first female mayor of Portland, Oregon; she also served on the Oregon Legislative Assembly, on the Mul ...

, former mayor of Portland, Oregon (1949–1953) * John Mellekas, professional football player *

Florence K. Murray Florence K. Murray (1916–2004) was a high-ranking officer in the Women's Army Corps, the first female state senator in Rhode Island, the first female judge in Rhode Island and the first female member of the Rhode Island Supreme Court. Early life ...

, former Rhode Island State Senator (1949–1956) *

David Narcizo David John Narcizo (born May 6, 1966, in Newport, Rhode Island) is an American musician and graphic designer, primarily known for his work as the longtime drummer for Throwing Muses. Career Narcizo played drums on Tanya Donelly's ''Lovesongs ...

, drummer for the band

M. Teresa Paiva-Weed Marie Teresa Paiva-Weed (born November 5, 1959) is an American attorney and politician who served as President of the Rhode Island Senate. She is a member of the Democratic Party who represented the 13th District (Jamestown and Newport) from ...

, former President of the Rhode Island Senate (2009–2017) *

Arthur Rosson Arthur Henry Rosson (24 August 1886 – 17 June 1960) was an English film director. From 1917 to 1948, Rosson directed 61 feature films (including co-direction of ''Red River (1948 film), Red River''). He also worked on many major films as a ...

, film director *

John P. Vinti John Pascal Vinti (January 16, 1907, Newport, Rhode Island – September 28, 1990, Boston) was an American theoretical physicist, who published papers not only in physics, but also in mathematics and engineering. He is known for the Vinti integral. ...

, theoretical physicist * Josephine Silone Yates, the first black student at Rogers High School, she later became the first black woman to head a college science department

References

{{authority control Schools in Newport County, Rhode Island Buildings and structures in Newport, Rhode Island Public high schools in Rhode Island