Rogers High students walk out over building conditions

NEWPORT — More than 100 students at Rogers High School walked out of classes Wednesday at about 1 p.m. to protest deteriorated conditions at the school and underscore the need for a new high school building.

"The conditions are horrible and gross to be in,” said Sierra Wright, a senior. “We go to class in rooms where there is mold, mice leaks and a plumbing system that doesn’t work. There is not enough heat in the winter and no air conditioning when it gets hot.”

Wright caused a stir last month when she photographed the school conditions she talked about and posted them to her Facebook page. Her post has generated hundreds of comments and shares since then.

The students joined Wednesday’s walkout after a message was posted on the Facebook page, "Save Our School, Rogers High."

“The floors are a big problem — they’re dangerous,” said senior Dante McCray as the students assembled in front of the main entrance near the auditorium. “When it gets humid and wet outside, they’re slippery and wet.”

“Just last week, when the floors were so slippery, I slipped and fell,” said Brenda Perry, a junior. “I was brought to Newport Hospital, where they said I broke my lower tailbone and my hip popped out of place. They had to pop it back in.”

“There is mold and water spots on the ceiling, and we’ve had mice fall from up there,” said Jamel Wills, a senior. “Rogers is falling apart. It’s disgusting.”

“This school is unsafe,” said Tyrese Lawton, a sophomore. “They always say they are going to do something about it, but nothing happens. It’s just talk.”

About a half-dozen parents were present for the walkout to support the students' actions.

Melody O’Brien, who has a son at Thompson Middle School, used a bullhorn to encourage the students and led them in chants.

“What do you want?” she called. “New school!” responded the students. “When do you want it?” she called. “Now!” the students called back.

“I have a son who is an eighth-grader at Thompson who should be coming here next year,” O’Brien said afterward. “But if this school isn’t fixed by then, he’s not coming.”

After O’Brien spoke, students took turns with the bullhorn.

Zobide Zia, a junior, was the only dissenting voice at the rally. When she took the bullhorn, she said conditions at the school “are not the administration’s fault.”

Walking out of classrooms when the students should be preparing for college and their future is not the way to draw attention to school conditions, she said.

She was yelled down as she concluded her comments.

Rachelle Ponton of Middletown, the mother of a senior at the Newport Area Career & Technical Center on the Rogers campus, was present.

“My parents went to Rogers and I went to this school, but it’s never been this bad,” Ponton said. “The students have had enough. My daughter has been sick because of this building — the mold, the mildew, the rodents and everything else. I have anxiety entering the building.”

Jennifer Jackson, who has two older children in the Newport school system, was among the parents rallying students.

“Teachers are bringing air purifiers and heaters into the classrooms,” she said.

“I have to bring a blanket to school to stay warm,” said Waynasia Perry, a junior.

She feared the heat would not be turned on until well into the cold months ahead.

“It’s dirty. They need to clean this school up,” said Kalil Jones, a junior. “We’re scared about getting sick, with dirty bathrooms, rats and mold almost everywhere.”

“I walked out because my little brother is coming here next year,” said America Rodriguez, a junior. “I don’t want a ceiling tile falling on him or a rat running between his feet.”

Rogers High School Principal Jared Vance was present at the beginning of the rally as was building, and later at the end.

“If kids want to come out and protest the conditions in the school, that’s fine,” Vance said. “As long as they do it peacefully, we’ll allow it.”

He understood the students’ desire for change.

“It’s frustrating when students and teachers come into a classroom and pipes are leaking,” Vance said. “We have to rearrange furniture sometimes and even move everyone to another classroom.”

Vance said the roof sometimes leaks at the front of the gymnasium.

“It’s not leaking where the new roof was installed, but the whole roof wasn’t done,” he said.

A new roof was put on Rogers High School in 2016, when Ahlborg Construction Corp. of Warwick completed the project for $3.18 million and the state covered 35 percent of those costs.

Conditions at the high school have become a hot topic since September 2017, when the School Building Authority at the state Department of Education completed a 50-page report called the “State of Rhode Island Schoolhouses.” The report included a “facility condition assessment” at each of the 306 school campuses around the state, including 60 high school campuses.

The report found Rogers High School to be the high school with the direst needs in the state and labeled it a “candidate for replacement.”

The state determined it would take more than $37.98 million to fix all the deficiencies at Rogers High School and another $13.47 million to maintain it for the next five years. That means the city would have to spend a combined $51.44 million in the next five years.

The state determined the replacement value of Rogers High School is $73.8 million.

The School Committee and the committee’s Facility Subcommittee plan to petition the City Council to place a local bond question on the 2020 ballot to finance a new high school. Meanwhile, they are hoping voters in the November election approve a statewide $250-million bond that would assist communities with school building needs.

“The problem is, we need to fix this school now, not in five to seven years,” said Nadia Corey, a freshman.

— sflynn@newportri.com