- Diamond Ridge High offers a unique rock band class led by Brandon Lupus.
- The class has helped students struggling academically or socially find a supportive community.
- Attendance and graduation rates have improved significantly due to the program's impact.
SANDY — It's not every day you run into a teacher who wants to chat about the metal band Black Sabbath.
"It's the greatest band of all time," said Brandon Lupus, a music teacher at Diamond Ridge High School. "I got to go see Black Sabbath for Ozzy's last concert in England with my wife. I've never been out of the country, and we saved all of our money to go see Black Sabbath, and it was amazing."
Nor is it every day you run into a teacher who wants to share that experience with an eager group of students.
"They're all jealous right now, looking at me," Lupus said. "The day I got back, I was like, 'Everyone look at my videos! They're amazing, here's Ozzy!'"
It's clear that Lupus fits in here. He knew that before he was even hired.
"I got to my interview, and Amy Boettger, our principal, goes, 'OK. We want to do a rock band class.' And that was when I knew I had my dream job," he said.
The students he teaches aren't exactly what comes to mind when you think of a traditional high school band, but this isn't a traditional high school. Instead of trombones or saxophones, they're playing drums and guitars while working on the solo portion of the Lynyrd Skynyrd song "Free Bird."
"I think all these students here are absolutely underdogs," said Lupus. "They're coming from schools where some of them have like a 0.2 GPA."
Diamond Ridge High School is a "school of choice" for students who may want a different type of school experience and environment. Whether it's because of bullying or 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.
"I'm not here just to teach music," Lupus said. "I'm here to change lives."
The lives of students like Cash Butler, who transferred from a nearby high school.
"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."
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 the walls of Diamond Ridge 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."
Music has brought these underdogs together, and being here has made them feel like someone believes in them.
If you want to hear the impact, all you have to do is ask Butler, who is graduating as the valedictorian of Diamond Ridge.
"It's seriously changed my life for the better," he said of the school. "I'm actually blown away by how much it's changed my life. It just really put me in a good mental space, and a good positive outlook on my high school years."
"Everyone's friends, we know each other really well," Butler said.
If you ask Lupus, it's music that's brought these underdogs together. But if you ask Butler, it's Lupus himself that's made the difference.
"He's the best teacher I've ever had in my life," Butler said. "And I'm not even saying that just because he's right here. He's genuinely such a caring guy. There's been days where it's just been off, and he literally checks with everyone, makes sure that they're doing OK."
Lupus believes the music is what brought the students together, to put in the hard work and accomplish something they hadn't before, and ultimately created a familial dynamic.
"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."
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.
Contributing: Parly Scott, KSL
