“Hey, Hey, Hey… What you got to say? Inglewoooood … Inglewood Swinging!” This was the chant during football and basketball games from many Inglewood High School Sentinels student body in the mid ’70’s. Over the past couple of years, there’s been much discussion regarding pending changes within the Inglewood Unified School District. That said, the Inglewood High Alumni Association will host its first “All Classes” Alumni Reunion Weekend, August 18-20, 2017, on the school’s campus located at 231 S. Grevillea Avenue, Inglewood, CA 90301.
Founded in 1905, Inglewood High School continues to serve as a four-year public high school and has adapted the state of California’s new accountability system, which provides a more complete picture of how schools are meeting the needs of its students including quality education, graduation rates, career/college preparedness, student assessment results and more. Known as “The Wood”, Inglewood High is also known for its accomplishments throughout the school’s extra-curricular activities, including sports, visual/performing arts, and the most recently implemented, Robotics Pathways program.
Returning Principal Debbie Tate says, “The alumni here at IHS are always welcome back. We need their participation and enthusiasm on our campus and at our events. I look forward to working with this group as they continue to serve as great examples to this generation and our students.”
Spearheaded by IHS’s Class of ’77 (celebrating/ its 40th year reunion), this will be the first “all classes” gathering on the school’s campus with a weekend filled with fun, food and fellowship. The events and activities will include:
Friday Night – ’70’s Style Sock Hop (IHS “Sentinel Inn”)
Saturday Day – Family Fun Day & Alumni Basketball Game (IHS Campus)
Saturday Night – Exclusive “All-White” VIP Party (TBD)
Sunday Morning – Worship Service & Lunch (Good Shepard Missionary Baptist Church)
Voted unanimously among its committee members, “We Are One” is the theme for the weekend as the alumni committee co-chairs (Russell Brown and Denise Wright representing the class of ’77 and Tirzah James and Mark Scoggins representing the class of ’78) point to Inglewood High’s proud history and the city of Inglewood. “First, I have to applaud all of the committee members who have joined in this effort which started back in November. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone throughout what I know will be a successful reunion weekend,” Brown said.
As the captain of his Sentinels varsity basketball team, Brown was nicknamed “Baby Magic” for his ball-handling skills. Following his days at Inglewood High, he received a full scholarship from the University of Arizona where he led his team in assists each of his four years there and earned his degree in Public Finance and Business Administration. “We have a strong history here at Inglewood and it’s always good to see the kids today keeping pace with what we started on and off the court back in the ’70’s”. “I’m also looking forward to playing again in our gym for the Alumni game on Saturday following our Family Fun Day,” he continued.
Many students from IHS have remained or have come back to the Inglewood community, living productive lives and raising their own families. Most importantly, the weekend will serve as an opportunity for the alumni to fellowship with life-long friends and reengage with the school. When asked to join, co-chair committee member Mark Scoggins immediately said, “Yes!” He recalls that his years at IHS to be most memorable serving as class president for three of his four years at Inglewood High and also a co-caption on his varsity football team. “Having my three brothers and one of my sisters with me while at Inglewood made it a no brainer for me to come on board,” said Scoggins who along with his siblings were IHS graduates from the classes of ’76, ’77, ’78, ’79 and ’81.
“You have to remember that the ’70’s had just followed the Civil Rights Movement and the city (Inglewood) was around 70% White and 30% Black during our elementary years. By the time we started high school, it was about half-and-half, and by the time we graduated in was more like 70% Black, 20% White and about 10% Latino. We had our challenges but we made through, he said. “It’s a different day today for these kids today and I wouldn’t trade places with any of them. For sure, having both of my parents on the PTA and supportive of all of their activities just made a great experience for the Scoggins family”, he continued.
The weekend will also be filled with goodwill intentions, as part of the proceeds raised will go back the school’s robotics program. In addition, the Inglewood High Alumni Association is asking for all alumni to bring a black backpack, which will be donated to students in need this fall. Those who bring a backpack will automatically be entered into a drawing for a set of golf clubs, donated by partner Big5 Sporting Goods. To date, other partners include, A Bright Beginning Child Development Center, The Brotherhood Crusade, Bonnie B Bakery, Coca-Cola, Hair Architects, Inglewood Park Cemetery/Mortuary and former Inglewood residents, the Los Angeles Lakers – who will be donating various merchandise items. Uniquely, through his relationship with BCIF (Black Community Investment Fund), committee Co-Chair Mark Scoggins convinced both his committee members and BCIF to expose a very unique opportunity, whereby BCIF will be providing the IHS Alumni Association with a $1,000 contribution, and that contribution will be awarded to one of the many small business owners within its alumni.
Lastly, Eric’s Vision, who ten years ago established a yearly scholarship to IHS student-athletes, is also on board as a partner of the alumni weekend.
Before his passing in 2009, former IHS Sentinel and USC Trojan, Eric Scoggins and his wife Shonta founded Eric’s Vision to raise awareness and support for individuals battling ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), fund ALS cure-driven research, and inspire further research by providing college scholarships to deserving high school students.
“When I looked at the landscape of this task, I trusted all of my professional experiences and that of the committees to ensure that the weekend would be mutual benefitting with all parties in mind – including the students, the alumni, the community and our corporate partners,” Said Scoggins.