The A-rated Collier County Public Schools’ newest high school will be named for former Sheriff Aubrey Rogers. His commitment to the community’s children and teens led him to establish the Collier County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) Youth Relations program in 1977, introducing the then-groundbreaking concept of putting deputies on school campuses. School board members considered suggestions submitted from the community and selected the name during the Regular School Board Meeting held on September 12, 2022, at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Administrative Center.
Sheriff Rogers was also instrumental in founding the Collier County Junior Deputy League in the 1960s, bringing opportunities for children to go camping and to be mentored by deputies. Later, he helped establish the Junior Deputy Day at the Collier County Fair, a tradition that continues today. Also fitting is that the school’s mascot will be the Patriots, a name that aligns with Sheriff Rogers’ service in the U.S. Army.
Sheriff Rogers was born in Fort Myers on August 27, 1926, and later moved to Naples in 1957 at the age of 31 years old. Early in his high school life, Rogers began to think about a career in law enforcement. He, as a child, had a great uncle who was a U.S. Marshal and a best friend’s father who was a policeman. They greatly influenced his future in law enforcement, so in 1948, at the age of 22, he went to work for the Fort Myers Police Department, which at that time had only a handful of officers. In 1957, then Collier County Sheriff E. A. Doug Hendry hired Rogers to work in the Everglades jail. When he began his career as a deputy at CCSO, Rogers earned 74 cents an hour. He eventually became Sheriff Hendry’s chief deputy. On November 19, 1975, then-Florida Gov. Reuben Askew appointed Rogers as sheriff of Collier County, replacing Hendry, who had resigned. Rogers served as sheriff until 1989. He was 83 when he died March 10, 2010.
When Aubrey Rogers High School, located in North Naples, opens to students in August of 2023, it will be the first new high school to open in Collier in 19 years. To learn more, including the timeline for selecting the school’s enrollment boundary, the principal assigned to lead Aubrey Rogers High School, and video updates from the construction zone, you may visit www.collierschools.com/arh.
Collier County School District's new high school in North Naples has a name and a mascot after the school board's unanimous decision Monday.
The high school will be named Aubrey Rogers High School after former Collier County Sheriff Aubrey Rogers, who established the office's Youth Relations Program in 1977. The program introduced the concept of putting deputies in schools.
The school's mascot will be the Patriots, which the district's website said aligns with Rogers' service in the U.S. Army.
HOMES FOR SALE NEAR AUBREY ROGERS HIGH SCHOOL
The school, which will cost about $97 million, will have 1,887 students. The school is located near Veterans Memorial Elementary and North Naples Middle School. The 60 acres for the campus was acquired by the school district in 2001.
The name of the new high school, which the district plans to open in August 2023, was chosen from among community member submissions, 170 of which were some variation of Aubrey Rogers.
In a submission sent to the district by one of Rogers' children — the names of who submitted each entry were not included in the district's document — they applauded their father's accomplishments.
Collier County Public Schools (CCPS) is excited to announce that Ellen Keegan will lead the new state-of-the-art high school currently under construction in North Naples. Ms. Keegan has been an educator for the past 27 years. She spent the first nine years of her career in New York City Public Schools and has been with CCPS for the last 18 years. Her experiences include classroom teacher, academic coach, assistant principal of curriculum and instruction, and principal. The past 10 years, Ms. Keegan has been dedicated and committed to the district while serving as an administrator at the secondary level. She was the principal at Lely High School for four years and most recently served as principal at Naples High School for the 2021-2022 school year. We look forward to having her leadership and guidance as we open the doors to our first new high school in 19 years!
Sheriff Aubrey Rogers' legacy
"He loved all kids and knew that their best opportunity for a good life was through education," the submission said. "He knew that a safe environment was critical to successful schools and he knew that building relationships of trust with law enforcement would be a sure way to make good citizens.
My dad was trusted and well respected in the community and always put the kids' best interests first and above all."
In a Facebook post by the Collier County Sheriff's Office, Sheriff Kevin Rambosk said he couldn't think of a more fitting name for the school.
“Sheriff Rogers demonstrated his commitment to our community’s young people again and again throughout his career,” Rambosk said in the post. “I want to thank Collier County Public Schools for allowing the community to have input in the naming process, the many community members who voted, and the Collier County School Board for supporting this appropriate tribute to Sheriff Rogers and his legacy.”
Rogers was born in Fort Myers on Aug. 27, 1926. He moved to Naples in 1957, when he was 31 years old.
As a high schooler, Rogers began to think about a career in law enforcement, according to the district. His great uncle was a U.S. Marshal, and his best friend's father was a policeman.
In 1948, at the age of 22, he went to work for the Fort Myers Police Department, which at that time had only a handful of officers.
In 1957, then Collier County Sheriff E. A. Doug Hendry hired Rogers, whom he had previously worked with at the Fort Myers Police Department, to work in the Everglades jail.
When he began his career as a deputy at the Collier County Sheriff's Office, Rogers earned 74 cents an hour. He eventually became Hendry’s chief deputy.
On Nov. 19, 1975, then-Florida Gov. Reuben Askew appointed Rogers as sheriff of Collier County replacing Hendry, who had resigned. Rogers served as sheriff until 1989.
Rogers founded the Collier County Junior Deputy League in the 1960s, which provided camping and mentoring opportunities for the community's youth by deputies. Later he helped establish Junior Deputy Day at the Collier County Fair.
He was 83 when he died March 10, 2010.
Aubrey Rogers remembered
Rogers' son, Cpl. Dan Rogers with the Collier County Sheriff's Office, said on the sheriff office's Facebook post that his family is grateful to the community and school board for choosing his father's name.
"We know if he were here today he would say that this is the highest honor he could have ever received,” Dan Rogers said in the post. “Even with the passing of time, his commitment to Collier County and its citizens, especially its youth, has not been forgotten, and this is a true testament to that.”
