After 43 years, Jeri Rogers Prepares to Retire

In her 43 years at Alta High School, Jeri Rogers has seen Alta change and evolve. She has seen Alta through all its remodels, all the district splits, all its policies, and all its principals and has never quit or changed her job.

“I love it here… I love the people I work with, and I love working with the students,” she said. “I never wanted to go anywhere else.”

Ms. Rogers has worked along side eight different principals and countless assistance principals, all with different priorities and directions to take the school.  “My experiences here have been good,” she said. “I have met and worked with a lot of good people.”

Ms. Rogers has supervised the attendance of some 30,000 students in her career! In the early days, Alta had graduating classes of over 800 students. Today, that number is just over 500 students.

With changes in leadership comes changes in rules and regulations, “The state and district policies are always changing, even just slightly, and I need to stay on top of those changes,” she said. “Attendance policies are driven by legislative and state law…some attendance policies have more consequences for poor attendance and truancy than others do.”

Ms. Rogers explained that attendance is more important than people realize. “Statistically speaking, positive academics goes hand in hand with positive attendance,” she said. “Legally speaking, taking attendance is required to determine responsibility for the student while in school. …If there was an emergency during the school day, the attendance taken would help those involved determine if we had any missing students.”

When asked about the biggest change she has seen at Alta, Ms. Rogers had one word: “Technology.” She elaborated, “When the building first opened, there was a WANG computer that was the most elite at the time. It had a special room kept at just the right temperature and humidity [to keep the computer safe].” Attendance was taken with cards that were then run through this computer. “And now we have little phones and our own computers…everything that happens is electronic.”

When asked about her favorite thing about Alta, she said, “The community. I love the students and the staff. It’s like a family. I never wanted to change it.” She has been dedicated to her job, and works behind the scenes to keep Alta running smoothly. 

The teachers are sad to see her go, and are grateful for the work she has done for the school. Ms. Ferguson said, “Ms. Rogers has been a hard worker behind the scenes. She has taken care of all things attendance related for the school, and has done so for 43 years. We are sad to see her go.”

As the year closes out and Ms. Rogers prepares to leave, she remains a wonderful example of humble dedication and achievement, and how far a career can take you.