Editor's Notebook: Way to Go, Rogers!

When I set foot inside Rogers High School about a month ago, I was surprised to find it filled with hustle and bustle, despite it being July—the middle of summer vacation. Students were pacing the halls to and fro as if it were an ordinary school day. Some were on their way to Credit Recovery, a program that helps students get caught up on work from the past school year. Others were off to the next session of Youth Workforce Summer Experience, a federally-funded program that allowed students to spend a few weeks of their break gaining real-world experience, while getting paid for it.

"I joke that we're like a 7-Eleven," Principal Patti Dicenso told me at the time. "We're open 24 hours a day. There's always something you can be doing here."

It's this type of energy that makes Rogers so special, and it's probably part of the reason why Rhode Island Monthly recently recognized the school as one of the best in the state. In its annual Schools issue, now on newsstands, the magazine put Rogers at No. 4 on its list, just below the usual favorites—Classical, East Greenwich and Barrington.

The school certainly faces its share of challenges, but it's also got plenty to be proud of, and it's hard not to feel a sense of optimism when you walk around the Rogers campus and speak to its faculty and staff. One measure of its success is the  improving graduation rate. The number rose from 66.7 percent in 2008 to 75.9 percent in 2009.

On that particular morning I visited, Dicenso had just come from a student's graduation. Yes, it was more than a month after the school's official commencement ceremonies, but Dicenso noted that the faculty works with students throughout the summer to help them graduate as soon as they've finished up their coursework.

"We're a 'vamily,'" she beamed, referring to the term meant to represent the school's body as one "Viking Family."

Dicenso's efforts were recognized earlier this year when she was named the 2010 Rhode Island Principal of the Year, but she maintains that it's the work of all of her faculty and staff that continues to lead to new successes. The principal noted that seeing students sign up for the summer Credit Recovery Program, which isn't required but continues to grow in popularity,  is one example of how their hard work is paying off.

"That's when I realize we have convinced them school is important," Dicenso said. "It's a nice feeling, seeing them come in like that."

With school starting this Thursday, students should walk in with their heads a bit higher, knowing that they attend one of the best schools in the state.

Congrats, Rogers vamily! You should be proud.