Though Steve Scroggs had an office to himself at Chapel Hill, he could often be found walking the halls, greeting kids (or even rewarding them with a five-dollar bill for presenting their student I.D.s).
Scroggs served as Chapel Hill High School’s interim principal from October to December while principal Sulura Jackson was away for a surgical procedure.
Scroggs still recalls how he felt in 1999 when he was promoted from teacher to school administrator. “Somebody––I’m not sure, it may have been a wine-induced moment––decided I would make a good administrator,” he said.
Scroggs may remember it as a strange decision, but he had extensive experience in education before his appointment. As the son of anti-segregation advocate and Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education member Mary Scroggs and colleague of Smith Middle School’s titular R.D. Smith, he had a lot to live up to.
While he cites Smith as his main inspiration for becoming a teacher, Scroggs says that his mother taught him valuable life skills. “[My mother] was an inspiration because of her value system,” Scroggs said. “That woman’s values and integrity were impeccable.”
Scroggs remembers his time as a Chapel Hill student fondly, but he also remembers being sent to the principal’s office on multiple occasions for skipping classes or selling cigarettes. He was Chapel Hill’s “unofficial male cheerleader,” driving a small striped cart, the “Tiger Car,” on the sidelines during football games. He even took photographs for the Proconian his senior year.
During the late 1960s when Scroggs attended the school, Lincoln High merged with Chapel Hill (making Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools the first southern school district to desegregate voluntarily). Scroggs describes it as an interesting period, but the two schools’ previous lack of interaction proved challenging. “Our biggest issue was trying to be inclusive but not knowing how to be,” Scroggs said.
By the time he was in college, Scroggs was determined to work in education. “When I went to Appalachian [State University], I knew I was going to be a teacher. I didn’t go to college and say, ‘Oh, I wonder what I’m going to be.’ This was ‘I got there. This is where I’ve got to be. Get me there,’” he said.
Scroggs’ first experience as a teacher was not even in the United States; it was in Mauritania, as an educator for the Peace Corps. He was there from 1973 to 1974 helping both to secure safe water sources during a drought and to offer education to locals. Scroggs called his time with the Peace Corps an enlightening experience. “It taught me more than I taught [the Mauritanians],” he said.
Upon returning to the United States, Scroggs began teaching in Kinston, North Carolina, before returning to the Triangle area in 1995 to work as the principal of McDougle Elementary School. He was first appointed interim principal to Chapel Hill in 2009, and again in October of this year. In total, Scroggs has spent over 35 years working in North Carolina public schools.
Scroggs came under fire from Chapel Hill parents for a newsletter he sent out on November 12 that included mild profanity. “Upon reflection, I may have stepped over the line in a few places. I did step over the line,” he said on the topic.
However, Scroggs was quick to affirm his dedication to the school. “Am I going to be profane in [the next] newsletter? No,” Scroggs said just after sending out his controversial message. “Am I going to be as driving and as heartfelt as I’ve been? Yes. I will apologize for stepping over the line. I will not apologize for the care and compassion I have for Chapel Hill High School.”
