THE GOODS

The Store In Lake Highlands

Stonewall Kitchen! Handmade jams, jellies, sauces and more - all made with high quality ingredients. Come check out our delicious selections.

Mon-Sat 9:30-5:30 10233 E. NW Hwy@Ferndale (next to Rooster’s) 214.553.8850

2SHEA BOUTIQUE & MED SPA

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6342 La Vista Dr. 214.272.3652

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ROOSTER HOME & HARDWARE

Among the packed shelves at Rooster Home & Hardware, you’ll find a limited edition Weber 22” Original Kettle Grill for only $199.99! While supplies last.

E. Northwest Hwy at Ferndale 214-343-1971 roosterhomeandhardware.com ing band in the district.”

At the time, Woodrow was the worst. But he was hopeful launching the 201213 school year as the band’s new leader.

He found a program in shambles, with just two-dozen members playing instruments that weren’t suitable for student use.

“The only thing you could do with them is make lamps out of them,” he says of the instruments.

“It was a blow-off class. No one took it seriously,” says Woodrow alum Julia Aves, describing band before Evetts’ arrival. “When Evetts came in, he actually cared and wanted us to do well.”

Evetts knew he needed to do two things: Establish a band booster club and get the students in private lessons. One funded the other, more or less.

As the support began rolling in, things started to change.

“We are not like the big schools with all kinds of money,” says current band parent Carrie Furman. “That impacts culture of caring,” says senior drum major Manuela Arroyave, who was recently accepted to Harvard University.

Evetts encouraged his students to take ownership of the band, and they did. This year, when he was out with a kidney stone, the students took attendance and ran rehearsal by themselves, leaving the substitute without much to do.

Evetts proved himself an outlet for angsty teens by offering guidance without judgment for students who needed a place to belong and feel welcome. When one musician didn’t show up for a band trip, Evetts directed the bus to the student’s home to pick him up.

“Mr. Evetts turned the band into a family where your academics and personal problems were just as important as the music,” says 2016 graduate and French horn player Adrian Turner.

Over the years, his efforts paid off.

“People at the football games to enjoy our shows more started getting thanks from team after the game,” Turner

After ranking as one of the forming bands in the district arrived, this year’s band advanced Area Marching Contest for in recent memory, scoring any Dallas ISD band and receiving fect scores at the regional the band so much.”

Evetts spent summer mornings painting the football lines on grass fields for the marching band to practice, paying for the white stripes out of his own pocket.

“He gives away his personal life and time in a way most aren’t,” says current band parent Maria Hasbany.

“He was like the personification of what people think of when they think of a band teacher,” says 2015 alumnus Isaac Morales, a French horn player. “He was so happy to be there.”

Evetts pushed to build leaders from within the band, and he developed team-building retreats over the summer to establish a positive culture.

“Band is truly like a family this year,” says senior drum major Archer Hasbany. “The upperclassman are like parents and role models for the freshman.”

“I have seen my little boy turn into a fine young man under the tutelage of the band program,” says Lauren Larson, whose son, Canyon, is a junior in band.

“We worked really hard to achieve that

The band that started with 20 now stretches from end zone on the football field, ping 114 musicians this year.

Fittingly, Evetts recently as one of the East Dallas Commerce Teachers of the the only educator whose came entirely from students.

Evetts, who welcomed last month, knows he could oped the band without help.

“I want to emphasize how Woodrow community is,” he says. “Anytime we have needed anything, I have been able to ask for it and it appears.”

While the band’s success in competitions is impressive, it’s Evett’s impact on the students that is most noteworthy.

“People knew that he believed in us,” Aves says. “Band made me more confident as a person. I am not afraid to get out there and try something new.”

Help support the Woodrow band by attending its Feb. 18 fundraising concert at the Granada Theater. Go to granadatheater.com for tickets.