Rogers High School (Toledo, Ohio)

Robert S. Rogers High School is located in west Toledo, Ohio, United States. It has been part of Toledo Public Schools since 1964, when Adams Township was annexed by the city. The school motto is "Writing success stories... one student at a time." As of 2008, with the exception of 2012-13, the school principal is Kelly Welch.

History of Rogers High School

In 1938, Toledo native Robert S. Rogers was elected to the Adams Township School Board. Frustrated by the fact that the township's teens were forced to attend high school in neighboring districts, Rogers advocated construction of a township high school – not just for the sake of convenience, but to create community in the township.

Rogers died in 1944, but his dream came to fruition in 1956 when 500 students walked into the school named after him at the corner of Nebraska Ave. and McTigue Drive. At the time, it was everything educators, students, and families could want for their suburban, nearly rural, community. Rogers High indeed provided a common identity for the Adams Township community – to the point where Joseph's Supermarket donated a rambunctious live ram ("Bunky") as the school's mascot!

What Rogers couldn’t have dreamed was the growth of the neighborhoods flanking Reynolds Road as Toledo's economy boomed after World War II. By 1964, Adams Township entered into an annexation agreement with the City of Toledo, and in 1966 Rogers High School was reborn as a Toledo Public School – complete with a million dollar expansion that included the city's only high school planetarium, a spacious library, cafeteria, and a gargantuan West Gymnasium that was the envy of the City League.

As the children of the post-war Baby Boom grew, so did Rogers High School. By the 1970s, Rogers had adopted a split schedule to accommodate some 2,400 students. In 1976, the building was expanded a third time with the state-of-the-art Rogers Skills Center added onto the front of the building. In 1980, the school absorbed the majority of the students of the former Spencer-Sharples High School several miles to the west after numerous attempts to merge the Spencer-Sharples Local School District with neighboring, predominantly white, districts failed. This was a pattern that in 1975, the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare would say violated U.S. civil rights laws and created a segregated district. Rogers also absorbed a fair amount of DeVilbiss and Macomber students in 1991 when TPS closed both of those buildings.

Demolition of the old Rogers High School began in October 2007 and finished in February 2008.

The new Rogers High School (built as part of Toledo Public Schools' "Building for Success" program) opened in 2006-2007 on McTigue Drive (while the new McTigue Middle School near Rogers opened on Nebraska Drive in September 2007).

Rogers Athletics

Boys athletic teams are known as the Rams, with girls teams competing as the Lady Rams. The school's teams compete in the Toledo City League.
* Girls Fast-pitch softball
* Boys Baseball
* Boys & Girls Basketball: 2011-12 Boys 1959-60 Varsity team won Rams 1st GLL championship
* Boys & Girls Cross Country
* Girls Tennis
* Boys & Girls Track (City League Boys Champions 1993, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003)
* Girls Volleyball
* Football (City League Champions 2000; State Playoffs 2000, 2005)

Ohio High School Athletic Association State Championships

* Girls Track and Field - 1977
* Girls Basketball - 2018, 2019

Great Lakes League (GLL) & Toledo City League Titles

*Football: 1964 (GLL), 1966 (GLL), 2000, 2011
*Volleyball:
*Golf:
*Boys Basketball:1966-67 (GLL), 2011–12
*Girls Basketball: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
*Wrestling: 1971-72, 1974–75, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88
*Baseball:
*Boys Track and Field: 1993, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2013
*Girls Track and Field: 1971, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2013
*Softball: 2013
(years marked with an asterisk (*) denote a shared title)

School organizations and clubs

Additionally, the school's Latin Club functions as a local chapter of both the Ohio Junior Classical League (OJCL) and National Junior Classical League (NJCL).

School songs

Alma Mater

We pledge our hearts our hands our voice to you Rogers High

We always strive to do our best for you Rogers High

Through life's long journey, we will recall,

The worthy lessons we learned in your halls

Rogers, Rogers High,

We Pledge our best to you.

Fight Song

Drive, drive on down the field

Push ever forward

Our Rogers High School

Never will meet defeat-Go Team

Drive through that line on to victory

We're here to cheer you

Never falter, never failing

Rogers High.

Notable alumni

* Yvonne Brown - Mayor of Tchula, Mississippi, first female black Republican Mayor in state of Mississippi
* Cathy Carlson, MD - President of Toledo Children's Hospital
* Fred Davis - tight end for USC, 2007 Mackey Award winner, and in National Football League for Washington Redskins
* Erik Kynard - high jumper, gold medalist at 2012 Summer Olympics
* Steve Mix - professional basketball player for Philadelphia 76ers, Detroit Pistons, NBA All-Star
* Joe Tiller - head football coach for Purdue and Wyoming
* Bonnie Turner - member of Emmy Award-winning television and film writing/producing team Terry and Bonnie Turner; credits include Saturday Night Live, 3rd Rock from the Sun, That '70s Show and Wayne's World (movie)
* Charles McBee - standup comedian, actor, writer; only comic to be passed by all three judges in Season 5 of ''America's Got Talent''; writer, producer and director of ''Chucked Up Life''
* Mike Bailey - Professor of computer science at Oregon State University
* Sandy White - Director of Operations, Marathon Classic LPGA tournament
* Zia Cooke - South Carolina Gamecocks Woman’s Basketball star and drafted 10th overall in the 2023 WNBA Draft.

Notable staff

* Kelly Welch - Jefferson Award finalist
* William Gladieux - Social Studies teacher; awarded Wal-Mart "Teacher of the Year" in 2007
* Sue McMillan - Math teacher; awarded 2005 NBC 24 Glass Apple
* Katie Peters - English teacher; awarded 2007 "Mrs. Page"
* Ward Ensign - Counselor; awarded 2007 "Mr. Ram"
* Jeff Pitzen - Art teacher; awarded 2006 "Mr. Ram"
* Kara Williams - Math teacher; awarded ''Toledo Blade'' "Teacher of the Month, 2005"; awarded 2006 "Mrs. Page"
* Trudie Neely - Counselor; awarded 2008 "Mrs. Page"

RHS Hall of Fame

Rogers High School's Athletic Hall of Fame was instituted in 2003 to honor the school's notable athletes and coaches through its 50 year history.

In November 2006 the Athletic Director of Rogers High School chose to disband the existing board and its members. Though the non-profit organization still exists, they no longer nominate and vote for newly inducted members. The old board does not recognize inductees past 2006 and for that reason the website shows no new members.

References

External links

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Educational institutions established in 1956
High schools in Toledo, Ohio
Public high schools in Ohio
1956 establishments in Ohio