SANDY — The high school band at Diamond Ridge High School might not be what comes to mind when you think of a traditional high school band — but this isn't a traditional high school.
A unique school environment
And the leader of this band? Their teacher, Brandon Lupus, who believes this is a special band for the underdogs.
Brandon Lupus plays guitar with his students at Diamond Ridge High School. (Ray Boone, KSL)
“I got to my interview, and our principal goes, ‘We want to do a rock band class.' And that's when I knew I had my dream job,” Lupus said. “I think all these students here are absolutely underdogs.”
Diamond Ridge High School is a “school of choice” for students who may want a different type of school experience and environment.
Students seeking second chances
Whether it's because of bullying, struggles with homelessness or simply feeling out of place, the students at Diamond Ridge left their schools and chose to be here.
They chose to give high school a second chance.
Lupus said most of the students are coming from schools where they may not have had the best grades.
“They're coming from schools where some of them have like a .2 GPA,” Lupus said. “I'm not here just to teach music. I'm here to change lives.”
The lives of students like Cash Butler, who transferred from a nearby high school.
Cash Butler is a student and valedictorian of Diamond Ridge High School. (Ray Boone, KSL)
“It really wasn't a good place for me. I just didn't really like it there,” Butler said. “I didn't feel like I fit in. I felt like I was kind of invisible in this sea of people.”
The impact on student success
Nearly half the student body is taking a music class, and what they've found here resonates.
“We're an alternative school. We have alternative students who listen to alternative music, and it works best here,” Lupus said. “The students who don't have an opportunity to express themselves otherwise, they get to express themselves in the music that they love, with the people that they love, doing what they love.”
And more than that, it's given them an escape.
“You can let go of all that stress from life and school and stuff, and just play music,” Butler said.
What's happening between these walls seems to be striking the right chord. Over the past year, thanks in part to classes like this one, GPAs are up, graduation rates are up and the regular attendance rate has risen a staggering 84%.
“Everyone's showing up all the time. I don't have to redo things. It makes the teacher's job better, it makes the students happier,” Lupus said. “At first they needed to be here, now they want to be here.”
Building community through music
Music has brought these underdogs together, and being here has made them feel like someone believes in them.
Students play music with their teacher, Brandon Lupus, at Diamond Ridge High School. (Ray Boone, KSL)
If you want to hear the impact, ask Cash, who is the valedictorian of Diamond Ridge.
“Everyone's friends, we know each other really well,” Butler said.
Lupus believes that music brought these high school students together to put in the hard work and accomplish something they hadn't done before.
“A lot of people say thank you to me, but they're the ones putting in the hard work. They're the ones showing up to class when they didn't show up to class at their home school,” he said. “I know what music can do for people, and clearly it changes lives.”
A teacher finding his place
Not just the lives of the students, but the life of their teacher too.
“My brother actually went to this school. And as it kept going, I kind of realized that I found my family, and I found my place, and it's really, really special what we got here,” Lupus said.
This may not be a traditional high school or a traditional band, but if you ask these musicians, it's something much more.
“There's a constant at Diamond Ridge, that there's always people looking for a home,” Lupus said.
