Will C. Crawford High School, Foundation, INC

From our Coaches... We are already up and running with another cross country season! Our team has welcomed a bumper crop of freshmen, many of whom have been training all summer long, eager to start racing. In a sweet twist, our team is now led in part by our Congolese refugee runners. Four years ago, they were quite literally newcomers to this country. Now, they are using their unique leadership skills to guide this diverse new group of runners, many of whom were born here in San Diego. We are planning on qualifying for the state meet in Fresno as a team as we have for the past 2 years straight. We also plan to CONTINUE to be the team with the highest GPA in Crawford.  UPDATE on our Seniors from last year's team.  All are attending college locally, and two are running for their colleges! Nader Ali is running for CSU San Marcos (along with ‘18 alum Isaq Moabim) Arturo Sandoval is running for City College, and SDSU freshman Ana Moreno will coach a middle school running club at Horace Mann. We couldn’t be more proud of these student-athletes who continue to be leaders and role models for other young people in our community as they pursue excellence at the college level. Thank you for your past donations, without which all of this goodness wouldn’t have happened!  Once again, we are reaching out for support as the season begins. We need money for running shoes and traveling expenses for races out of the county. Thank you in advance for helping to make this team a catalyst of empowerment and positive change in our neighborhood. From Susan "64 : Any donation will help make an impact. If you would be so kind as to forward this to your fellow Colt Supporters we will get this campaign rolling for our dedicated runners.  More information about Will C. Crawford High School, Foundation, INC: We raise money to fund programs for students attending Will C Crawford High School ( 4191 Colts Way San Diego, CA 92115) and scholarships for continuing education as they begin their post-high school adventures.

From the late 1960’s through mid-70’s, San Diego’s Will C. Crawford High School produced an extraordinary number of talented young musicians who would go on to enjoy professional careers as performers, composers, producers and music educators.  Many continue to thrive on stages, in studios and at educational institutions throughout the country, while others who left a significant mark in music have sadly passed on too soon.

For all who were part of this unique performing arts hotbed, their unifying force was Music Director Dennis Foster (’67-’75).  Under Mr. Foster’s leadership, many of Crawford’s ensembles were among the most respected and awarded in Southern California, particularly in the field of jazz.


In 1989, KPBS-TV produced a performance documentary reuniting some of Crawford’s most illustrious music alums from the early 70’s (Hollis Gentry, Nathan East, Carl Evans, Jr., Doug Robinson and Marchelle Minafee), who each recounted their development as artists at CHS.  Here are some highlights from that program (courtesy of KPBS):

https://youtu.be/jCbEhLhlJck 


Now in retirement near Tucson, Dennis Foster wishes to leave a legacy of Crawford’s music excellence and achievement to future generations of CHS and San Diego Unified students and teachers with his library of studio and concert recordings of the Colt jazz/stage bands, concert bands and orchestras he led.  These often professionally captured performance tapes include the only known recording of works specially commissioned for the Crawford ensembles of this era.

The delicate process of digitally transferring audiotape of this vintage requires the expertise and equipment of a specialist.  It involves the “baking” of reels in a convection oven to loosen the tightly packed magnetic tape and ensure that the recorded material adheres to its tape backing upon playback after decades in storage.  For this project we have arranged the services of L.A.’s leading tape archivist to the music industry, longtime Capitol Studios engineer Bill Smith of United Archiving.

Funds raised for the Crawford High Music Legacy Project cover the projected costs of transferring Mr. Foster’s tapes, the establishment of a digital music archive for Crawford High School plus all associated shipping and handling expenses.  Current plans include making the archive accessible to interested alumni, project contributors and community members.

Whether you played in a Crawford music ensemble, support the idea of arts education in our schools or merely recognize the value of preserving these exceptional performances for future aspiring CHS musicians, your tax-deductible contribution will help create an enduring digital archive of these one-of-a-kind recordings.  Please join in this exciting rediscovery and appreciation of a special era at Crawford High.  To learn more or make a matching gift, visit www.crawfordcolts.org and click on “DONATE."

We have high hopes as we head into the 2018 Cross Country season.  Placing 7th at the State level last year helped us understand the potential we have. The grit of this team is such that, even after losing crucial members that graduated or left the city, we are aiming at winning the State Title this year.  Please help us support this team once more with your financial resources.  Shoes, trip expenses, and healthy snacks are still necessary to fill the gap for our runners, the majority of whom are refugees.  These athletes are required to go to a post-practice tutoring session three times weekly in order to keep up with the demands of school.

Please consider giving in any of the following categories

$100-One pair of running shoes for the season for one runner
$300-All race related travel expenses during the season for one runner
$500-Three hotel rooms for our stay in at Fresno during the State Competition
$1000-Shoes for 10 new team members
$2000-Sponsor the entire season's meals during our academic tutoring time

 

Tlaloc Antonio Venancio-Mancilla
City Heights Runners Coach

It is baseball season at last. Crawford High has a fine history of baseball teams from years when money and support existed. Times have changed and this team of enthusiastic players and coaches could use some gloves, mitts, bases, masks, certified bats, helmets and uniform items. They need support from the community and alumni. 97 percent of our students live below the poverty line and often find it unaffordable to participate in these activities. We love helping them succeed and become good citizens and sportsmen and women. Will C. Crawford High School Foundation and Alumni Association is an all volunteer group with minimal expenses. ALL money donated goes through us to support Will C. Crawford high school.