About Rogers School

Overview

     Rogers School is the oldest school in the Fairhaven Public School System.  We are located in the beautiful and historic center of Fairhaven and Center, Pleasant, South, and Chestnut Streets border our school.  We provide for the educational needs of the children who reside in the area from Route 6 south, west to the Acushnet River, south to Ft. Phoenix, and east to where Alden Road and Route 6 intersect. Presently Rogers School meets the needs of 210 students disbursed from kindergarten through grade 5.

     We have two full-day kindergarten programs and two classrooms apiece at the grade 1-5 levels.  Our school is a neighborhood school with the majority of students either walking or being individually brought to school.  Class sizes range from 13 to 20 students with an average class size of 17 students.

Building History

     Books have been written about our school and Mr. Henry Huttleston Rogers, the town’s primary benefactor.  Mr. Rogers was a Fairhaven man who became wealthy in the oil business.  He and his family made Rogers School their gift to the town, its children, and their families.  It was not only Mr. Rogers’ money but also his insight to see that Fairhaven needed a large grammar school that would replace several one-room schools.  Besides being logistically more efficient Mr. Rogers envisioned a school that would serve the educational needs of the children who might never go beyond a primary education. Mr. Rogers’ tenacity and attention to detail was obvious to all when, in 1885, Rogers School opened its doors to the children from the center of Fairhaven as well as to children in the upper grades from the outlying areas of our town.  An addition was added in 1957 which houses our gym/auditorium, main offices and first grade wing.  Additionally, we have 3 portables located on the school grounds.

     Rogers School is an old facility; however, the physical and educational aspects of our school have changed with our community’s needs.  Rogers School continues to meet the needs of all students and their families today, much as the school did some one hundred twenty years ago.

Educational Resources

     Rogers School consists of thirteen classrooms. Our two full-day kindergartens are in the portable classrooms located on the playground just south of the main school building.  These classrooms provide a safe and comfortable learning area.  Each of these portables is self-contained and has its own bathrooms, heat, and air conditioning.  The remaining students are educated within the main building. Our grade one and Learning Center classrooms are located in the newer portion of the main building (1957) while grades 2 through grade 5 students are located in the historic part of the main building (1885). We also have a music area in this portion of our school.  In addition, as one might expect, we have administrative, health, and service related spaces located throughout the school.  Support services such as nursing, physical and occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, and out-sourced counseling are provided by transient service providers who visit our school throughout the week.  Our school is unique also because we have a common area that serves as our gym, cafeteria, and auditorium.  While this triple threat room provides us with its fair share of challenges, it also does not stop us from putting on a wealth of activities and presentations.  This includes performing two full-length concerts on the same day.  The motto of the staff that makes this happen is, “If it needs to be done, it can be done.”