Inglewood Unified School District Home

Dr. James Morris began his career in education forty-three years ago as a teacher and has served a principal, an assistant superintendent, Chief of Staff, Chief Operating Officer, and a variety of other administrative positions. After serving for thirty years in the Los Angeles Unified School District, he was selected as the Superintendent of the Fremont Unified School District where he served for 7 years. After retirement, he continued to serve in a variety of administrative roles. In January 2023, he accepted a position as County Administrator of the Inglewood Unified School District and is committed to helping the district exit receivership.

Bernadette Lucas has been an educator for over 28 years. She came to education through Teach For America (1991). She has most recently served as the Director of Technology for Beverly Hills Unified School District. She served in the Los Angeles Unified School District for 23 years as a Teacher, Title I Coordinator, Advisor and Assistant Director for a teacher credentialing program, Assistant Principal, Principal, Mentor Principal, and Director of Technology. She also teaches in the School Leadership Program at California State University, Dominguez Hills.

Dr. Brian Coffey has been an educator in the Inglewood Unified School District since 1997. In 2003 he was awarded the Bill Ellis Teaching Award from the National Center for Learning Disabilities for excellence in practice and a commitment to students with learning and attention issues. In 2008, he earned a Doctor of Education Degree from USC’s Rossier School of Education, with a focus on Teacher Education. Dr. Coffey served as Principal of Kelso Elementary School from 2012-2019, and helped convert Beulah Payne Elementary to Payne P-8 STEAM Academy during his tenure as the school's Principal from 2019-2023.

Mr. Bhatta has extensive experience in California school finance and has played a critical role in maintaining the district's fiscal stability through comprehensive budget development, multi-year financial projections, collective bargaining cost analyses, cash flow forecasting, and ongoing monitoring of restricted and unrestricted funding sources. He has led numerous fiscal initiatives, including budget certification, audit coordination, financial recovery efforts, implementation of new financial management systems, and the development of long-range fiscal sustainability plans.

Dr. Ugema Hosea has dedicated more than three decades to serving the students, families, and community of the Inglewood Unified School District. Beginning her career in IUSD in 1994 as an elementary educator, she has served in numerous instructional and administrative leadership roles, including teacher, program coordinator, assistant principal, principal, executive director, and district-level leader. Her commitment to educational excellence has been recognized through numerous honors, including IUSD Teacher of the Year and multiple IUSD Principal of the Year awards.

Dr. McGhee was elected in April 2013 to serve Seat 2. She won a new term in the at-large general election on April 4, 2017. She has spent her adult life working with parents and children, beginning her career as a Head Start preschool teacher. An author of four children’s books, Dr. McGhee has served as a multi-cultural literacy coach and as a behavior specialist, advising and educating parents with special needs children. She has served as a motivational speaker for parents, teachers, and students and remains active in several school systems as a community organizer and educator. She has developed innovative programs for parents focused on reading and travel; established mock court programs as a deterrent to gang violence; and started English and Spanish as a Second Language classes in the community. Dr. McGhee spent ten years as a director of the United Negro College Fund, which provides scholarships for students to attend Historically Black Colleges and Universities. She is the married mother of two adult sons and the founder of the Khocolate Keepsakes Children’s Literacy Museum. Dr. McGhee holds a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education, a master’s degree in psychology, and a doctorate degree in pre-perinatal psychology.

Mr. Brandon George Myers was elected in November 2020 to serve Seat 3. A native of Connecticut, Mr. Myers was born in the city of Hartford where he spent his childhood. Mr. Myers attended Norfolk State University, a historically black university, graduating with a B.A. in English/Theatre Performance.

As a longtime Inglewood resident, he has more than 8 years of education experience in addition to over 14 years of experience working with children and families. Shortly after he moved to Los Angeles, he began working at a nonprofit, Vista Del Mar Child and Family Services, as a Child and Family Specialist where he remained for 5 years serving as an advocate for foster children within various communities. As a result of his love for the people and the betterment of the city in which they reside, Mr. Myers became a Mayoral candidate for the city of Inglewood in November 2018. In early 2020, Mr. Myers founded and served as President of the Inglewood South Bay Democratic Club. Through the years, Mr. Myers has been determined to eradicate economic disparities and inequalities that plague our communities. Mr. Myers was recently married in September of 2019.

Margaret Evans was re-elected in November 2024 to serve Seat 4. A longtime Inglewood resident, she has more than 30 years of education experience, including 13 years as an administrator, and has worked as a senior advisor and teacher. Mrs. Evans received a four-year scholarship to Lane College in Jackson, Tenn., graduating with a B.S. Degree in Business Education. Shortly afterward, she moved to Los Angeles and began working at CBS Radio scheduling commercials. After a year, she was promoted to personnel assistant at CBS TV where she remained for two years coordinating benefits for all employees. She answered the call to education in January 1974 when an opening for a long-term substitute became available at a friend’s school within LAUSD.

Joyce L Randall was elected in November 2022 to serve the Inglewood Unified School District on Seat 1. As a lifelong Inglewood resident she is looking forward to serving with a deep sense of humility. With over 31 years of experience in the field of education she has served as a teacher, mentor teacher, and a STEAM Magnet School Coordinator. She has served as Inglewood Council of PTAs’ President, President of La Tijera School PTA, and Inglewood Teachers’ Association's Grievance Chair. She has served multiple years and continues to serve as a National Education Association Delegate. She served as Director of Education at a megachurch, and as a Trustee on the same Church’s School Board of Education.

Mr. Castillo is a proud son of Inglewood, a product of Inglewood Unified School District (IUSD), and a lifelong advocate for equity, opportunity, and progress. Born and raised in Inglewood, he made history as the youngest person and first Latino elected to the Inglewood School Board. A graduate of IUSD himself, he understands firsthand the power of a strong public education system and has dedicated his career to ensuring that every student in Inglewood receives the same opportunities to thrive. His commitment to public service has taken him from Washington, D.C., where he worked for Congressman Tony Cárdenas on federal policies to uplift underserved communities, to the California State Senate, where he worked for Majority Leader Lena A. Gonzalez and was instrumental in coordinating large-scale food distribution efforts and vaccine clinics in the hardest-hit areas of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Patrick Cruse, a senior at City Honors International Preparatory School, serves as the Inglewood Unified School District Student Board Member, representing thousands of students across the District at the Board of Education. As a voice for the next generation, Patrick brings extensive experience in educational leadership and policy, serving as a statewide Director of Educational Policy with the California Association of Student Councils representing 6 million students. Under his leadership, he champions student voice, advances meaningful engagement, and ensures that student perspectives help shape the future of education across IUSD and beyond.

On Malia Anthony’s birthday, a star was born. This 4th grader at Centinela is an excellent student who aspires to be a multifaceted singer and songwriter when she grows up. She writes her own songs and raps, and would like to sing R and B with a hip hop flair, professionally. She loves singing in the church choir and says she comes from a musical family, with both parents being artists. Malia was this year’s City of Inglewood Black History Month speech winner for 3rd grade, beating out everyone else in the 3rd-5th grade category. She took the stage and posited how it is better to be together, and focused on remedying problems of the past to create a better future for all Americans. In her speech, she also stressed that we can get more done together than alone.

Based on the numbers, such as his 4.0 GPA, we can predict that Inglewood High School United (IHSU) senior Caeleb Franklin has a bright future! His goal is to become an Actuary, which is a mathematical scientist that analyzes statistics and probability and makes predictions about future events. He is applying to UC San Diego and Cal State Long Beach, but his dream college is Morehouse, where he wants to major in math and minor in business finance. Caeleb aspires to use his

Kylen Crowell is a real showstopper! This 7th grader at LaTijera Academy of Excellence boasts a 3.5 GPA, and has aspirations of becoming an R and B singer, songwriter, and actor. He says he’s been singing as long as he’s been talking. He has performed at school assemblies and concerts as a soloist and as part of a group. Kylen has also performed the national anthem at high school girls’ and boys’ basketball games, and performed at the IUSD Latino Heritage Month celebration, where he sang in Spanish. This year, Kylen shined bright as the district wide Black History Speech Contest winner for middle school, where he performed a song medley in his speech recital. His speech focused on how communities must stand together to be strong, and how music brings us all together.

Oswaldo Garcia is revving up for a bright future! As the 2026 City Honors International Preparatory School (CHIPS) valedictorian, Oswaldo boasts a 4.6 GPA and will attend UC Irvine on a Regent Scholarship in fall, majoring in Mechanical Engineering. He aspires to become an engineer that designs and manufactures environmentally friendly car parts. His love of cars came from Lightning McQueen being his favorite character from the Cars movie franchise as a child. He has always loved to build model cars, including lego cars. Eventually, Oswaldo wants to obtain a masters degree in Mechanical Engineering. He says he wants to further his education to learn all that he can about cars and how to mitigate their environmental impact, while making them more affordable for working families. He also wants to explore the field of Biomedical Engineering and design mechanized body parts for humans that can help the disabled community.

How do you spell success? D-A-L-O-N! Bennett Kew Academy 8th grader Dalon Taylor is the 2026 IUSD district wide spelling bee winner for 8th grade. Not by coincidence, he also won the district wide spelling bee in 5th grade. This straight A student has big dreams of becoming an NFL athlete because he enjoys watching, playing, and competing in sports. He is also a self-proclaimed “numbers guy” who loves math, so he is also interested in a career in finance. He currently plays baseball, just to expand his horizons and diversify his experience as an athlete. His dream college is USC, Ohio State, or LSU, because of their competitive football programs. Additionally, Dalon has received multiple awards over the years for being a districtwide champion in baseball.