86 Bennett

As a parent, it breaks my heart to say this, but this school has a serious issue with diversity, equity, inclusion and families deserve to know the truth before enrolling their children.Over the years, I’ve noticed a consistent pattern of racial bias that has impacted my child’s confidence and sense of belonging. It’s something many other parents have privately shared with me as well. Even staff members have acknowledged concerns about how the school handles diversity.Here are just a few of the issues:• Performances & representation: In school events, African-American students are consistently placed on the ends, never centered, and rarely more than two or three are included.• Lack of diverse staff: There are no African-American or Latino teachers on staff. The only representation seems to be in yard duty or crossing guard roles.• Unequal discipline: There was an incident where an African-American boy was bullied, yet he was sent home while the other child involved (who was not African-American) received no consequence at all. This is not the first time I’ve witnessed disparities in how children are disciplined.• Daily environment: If you are African-American, prepare to feel uncomfortable at pickup. There is a noticeable energy of being watched, judged, or looked up and down by others including staff.To be fair, the school is located in a nice area, the uniform policy is convenient, and there are some truly wonderful teachers doing their best. But those positives do not outweigh the deep-rooted cultural issues that continue to affect children of color.Every child deserves a safe, inclusive, supportive school environment. Unfortunately, this school has a long way to go in addressing hidden racism, unequal treatment, and representation. I hope the administration takes these concerns seriously, because families of color deserve better

I feel compelled to write a review in the hopes that I can save another family from experiencing the hell that is Rogers Middle School. Hate speech, threats of violence and actual physical violence run rampant in this school. Teachers turn a blind eye and in some cases are a bully themselves. The principal acts like a child and is not respected as an authority figure by the students. They think the best way to deal with violent students is to talk it out. The students know they can get away with things and there is no discipline. I feel as though it’s generous to rate this school a one because my child will have to deal with a lifetime of trauma and that deserves a negative number in my opinion.

Taught here for a number of years. Moved my own kids to Orange County because I didn't want them attending here. The administration was just horrible. The whole district is more worried about their reputation, looking good and garnering awards from no name organizations. The administration will post rules and policies but are no where to be found enforcing them. Long Beach does not seem to get rid of bad principals either. Instead they just shuffle them around to other sites. A colleague of mine called this the "dance of the lemons."