ROGERS : New name adorns old campus
Posted on Monday, August 18, 2008
ROGERS — Students start classes at Rogers Heritage High School today, opening a new chapter at the district’s newest — and oldest — high school building.
The Rogers School District joined a decision-making process under way in many growing Northwest Arkansas school systems, choosing to open a second high school to keep pace with enrollment needs.
But rather than constructing a new building, the district rebuilt its campus on South Fifth Street, which was home to the original Rogers High School from 1960-2001, when the district opened a new campus on Dixieland Road.
The new $ 39 million, 339, 000-square-foot Heritage High School building — named in honor of its unusual origins — was built on 100, 000 square feet of the former high school.
“Today we celebrate a very special new beginning, while at the same time we’re building on the wonderful traditions we have from the past,” Superintendent Janie Darr said as she gathered with district leaders to dedicate the building Sunday.
The school will introduce a new rivalry into what has been a one-high school town — pitting the newly named Heritage War Eagles against the Rogers Mounties.
‘A NATURAL OUTGROWTH’ Several large Northwest Arkansas school districts have faced the decision of opening a second high school as their enrollment levels grow to capacity. The Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers metropolitan statistical area ranked as the U. S. Census Bureau’s 27 th fastest-growing community in 2007. The wave of new people is balanced by lifetime residents who graduated from Rogers High School and always imagined their children doing the same, Heritage High School Principal Karen Steen said. The existing high school is ingrained in the city’s culture. Rogers police officers have Mounties license plates on the front of their cars, downtown businesses happily brave street closings for the Rogers homecoming parade, and Mayor Steve Womack calls Mounties football games on the radio.
The transition may take some work, but it’s a product of healthy city growth, Steen said. She formerly worked in the Las Vegas School District, opening two or more high schools a year.
“It’s a natural outgrowth,” Steen said. “You market your community, and you’ve got to be prepared for what that’s going to do.” The school’s boundaries divide students based on what elementary school children in their neighborhood attend. The boundaries take into account test scores, socioeconomic indicators, and racial data to balance future classes between the two schools.
Heritage will open with 1, 700 students in ninth through 11 th grades, adding seniors next school year.
Parents and alumni seem to be ready to make the transition. At Sunday’s dedication, Womack asked Rogers graduates who attended school in what is now the Heritage building to stand.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the biggest number of turncoats this city has ever seen,” he said. The gymnasium full of attendees laughed. ‘TWICE THE OPPORTUNITIES’ As Bentonville High School’s enrollment nears 4, 000 students, the School Board is prepared to construct a new high school, Superintendent Gary Compton said.
“There are small cities in Arkansas that aren’t as big as our high school,” Compton said. “And there can only be one starting quarterback and one firstchair trumpet.” In March, voters denied a proposal to increase property taxes by 3. 99 mills to fund an expected $ 209 million in new facilities, including a new high school.
Compton attributes the defeat in part to public resistance to opening a new high school.
The building will take a minimum of two years to complete from design to grand opening, Compton said.
The district likely will remain the fastest-growing in the state, with incoming kindergartners outpacing outgoing seniors at growing rates.
“We will not be out in front of [the need for space, ]” Compton said. “We’re already behind it.” Other Northwest Arkansas school boards, such as Fayetteville’s, have opted to maintain one high school. The board is negotiating the sale of its current campus to the University of Arkansas with plans to construct a larger building in another part of the city.
Springdale School Board members agree that opening a second high school was “one of the best decisions we’ve ever made,” President David Van Bebber said.
The district opened Har-Ber High School on the west side of town in 2005.
Springdale will soon complete a $ 13. 4 million renovation to the old Springdale High School, healing any perceived inequalities between the two campuses.
“We gave those kids many more opportunities to participate,” Van Bebber said. “There’s only so many spots on the cheerleading team.” BUILDING A HERITAGE Students elected junior Jessica Priest, 16, as Heritage Student Council president last spring, using ballots color-coded for Heritage and Rogers high schoolbound students in a carefully choreographed school election. Students at Rogers’ sophomore campus had mixed reactions to the split, Priest said. Some students, who always had anticipated cheering for the Rogers Mounties at football games, were reluctant to start high school at a new place. “They’re leaving half of their friends,” Priest said. “We’ve been with these same people forever. It’s really a whole new experience for everybody.” The typical first-day fears of freshmen wandering through strange new hallways will be compounded by the reality that the massive new building is also unfamiliar to its teaching staff. Even teachers who taught in the building when it was used as the old Rogers High School find it difficult to navigate after the extensive remodel, science teacher Lara Irvin said. Some teachers even joked that they couldn’t find the front office from the center of the building. Student Council members worked to create a scavenger hunt to allow students to explore the building on the first day of classes, hiding War Eagle mascots throughout the building. The group also created the new school’s versions of some Rogers High School traditions. The Senior Mountie Attack Team, a group of vocal Rogers High School fans who sport nicknames on blue and white Tshirts, will be replaced with the Blue and Orange Spirit Section. A committee worked last year to write the lyrics to the school’s fight song, and a parentteacher organization held its first meetings over the summer. Teachers, parents and administrators agree that there’s only so much that can be planned. When students step through the school’s doors today, they’ll start a year of creating new traditions, new cheers and new rivalries that could last for decades. “The first year has to be amazing because people are always going to remember that,” Priest said.
To contact this reporter: eblad@arkansasonline. com A tale of two high schools Fall 1993 A committee begins discussing the future needs of the Rogers School District. August 2001 Rogers High School opens at a $ 23 million campus on Dixieland Road. The former campus at Mountie Boulevard is converted into a sophomore center. Fall 2002 The district launches an $ 80 million capital improvement plan to renovate the former Rogers High School campus and build seven schools. May 2006 Architects complete plans for Heritage High School. June 2006 Demolition begins at the former Rogers High School site. August 2006 Construction begins at the former Rogers High School site. May 2007 The School Board votes to name the school Heritage High School, sets the War Eagle as its mascot and navy and orange as its colors. The board also approves a new student feeder pattern for the schools. July 2007 The School Board hires Karen Steen, a Bentonville administrator, as principal of the new high school. May 2008 The Rogers City Council renames Mountie Boulevard, which runs past the Heritage High School site, South Fifth Street in preparation for the new school’s opening. Today Students start the first day of classes at the new Heritage High School.
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