Award-winning director revamps Pottsville band
Award-winning director revamps Pottsville band
Devin West believes music is life — and that it saved his. West, 27, is the new director of bands for Pottsville High School. He comes off a successful tenure in Gurdon, where he grew the band, which won the 2A Marching Band State Championship in 2018. He was also named Teacher of the Year — twice.
But he was hitting all the wrong notes as a teenager until his former Magnet Cove High School band director, Rusty Hart, stepped in.
“My family dynamic was pretty rough growing up; my parents split up when I was 3 months old,” West said. “My dad was an alcoholic; he died of cirrhosis of the liver. He was very abusive, so I was a pretty troubled kid. I was going down a path that was not conducive to a reputable young man. … I tell people all the time that Rusty Hart saved my life because he pulled me back in band.”
West played saxophone and percussion in the Magnet Cove band from sixth to eighth grades; then he quit band. He moved around, staying at friends’ and relatives’ homes because of his family problems, he said.
“That’s when I got really bad,” he said.
West said he was a frequent visitor to the principal’s office and was suspended from school for fighting.
“It was easy to write me off, but Rusty didn’t do that. That’s how I got in band, because Rusty reached out a loving hand, not only a mentor’s hand, but an educator’s hand,” West said.
Hart, who is now the director of bands in Cabot, said he saw something special in West.
“Devin was a pretty rough kid, but Devin is one of the most persistent people I have ever met in my life. When he locks onto something, he’s going to do it. You can bet on it,” Hart said. “Even though Devin would find himself in some mischief, he was one of those kids — he would do anything I asked him to do, and he would do it correctly.”
Despite the fact that Hart is only 34, he said West “is kind of like a son.”
“I lost my father at an early age, when I was in junior high. He just recently lost his father,” Hart said. “He latched onto me pretty hard as a father figure. Even during college, he’d call me: ‘What do I need to do?’ He wants more than anything to be successful. He knows perception is reality. He takes the steps he needs.”
West said he knew Hart was a good person, and he listened to him.
“He instilled something in me that I carry today, and that’s the benefit of the doubt,” West said. “There’s not a bad kid. It’s just a bad situation, and they don’t know how to handle it.”
Playing saxophone and percussion was West’s ticket to college. He first went to Henderson State University in Arkadelphia on a music scholarship, thanks to Hart.
“He was not a very good player in high school,” Hart said. “It wasn’t until his junior
and senior year, he decided he was going to start working real hard. He didn’t have any accolades … all-region band, or anything like that, to his name.”
Hart said he called the band director at HSU and told him about West’s dedication and drive and encouraged him to give West a chance.
“They ended up giving him a nice scholarship, and he needed it,” Hart said.
After West graduated with a bachelor’s degree in music education from HSU, he lived in Malvern and worked at an auto-parts store. His stepmother had breast cancer, he said, and he wanted to be supportive.
“She beat it; she’s fine now,” he said.
He then earned a master’s degree in jazz performance and studies at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. He applied for a job at Gurdon, a small school that attracted him because he wanted to give back.
“I felt like I owed a debt to society,” West said. “If my life could be changed by one person, I owed that debt back to society.”
He was hired in 2015 to teach grades five through 12. He said there were only 12 students in the Gurdon High School Marching Band when he started, and about 47 when he left.
West said seeing his students win the 2A Marching Band State Championship in 2018 was the highlight of his career. He recalled their return trip to Gurdon.
“When we pulled up to the parking lot, there was nobody in their houses because they were all in the parking lot — the cheerleaders, the football team — cheering on the band,” he said.
“It was a challenge. But it was a real humbling moment, watching those kids who hadn’t really achieved anything [win], and the program used to be really good, but with staff changes, administrative changes, the program was all but dead.”
He said the job itself weighed on him.
“That’s a hard area to teach in; it’s about 80 percent [students who receive] free [or reduced-price] lunches. In a lot of homes, kids are raising themselves, and I connected with that. That spoke to me on such a level. I poured it into those kids that it was an opportunity to get out of that situation,” he said.
West said he would come in early and stayed late to give free music lessons and help kids with homework. West said he asked for an assistant, but the position was not approved.
“I started to get burned out with no help, ” he said.
West said he decided to leave for a bigger school, the 4A Pottsville School District.
West, who lives in Russellville, was hired in May and started the position at Pottsville on June 15. He said Kevin Ray, the previous Pottsville High School band director, took a job teaching beginners in Pottsville elementary and middle schools.
“Mr. Ray, he wanted to take a step back and focus on retirement. … He wanted somebody new to come in with fresh eyes,” West said.
“At Pottsville, I have two assistants, a very, very good budget and an administration that has bent over backward,” he said.
West said Pottsville High School Principal Jonathan Bradley “was in band once upon a time, so he is an advocate for music education.”
Superintendent Larry Dugger “is so on board, it’s absolutely crazy. He has really, really, really footed the bill and put his money where his mouth is,” West said.
The band will take the field in new, stylish uniforms, West said.
“We’re doing a digitally printed show performance top that will be thematic for what we’re doing,” he said. The tops are red, white and blue and have stars. The patriotic show they will perform for competitive marching band will be “Letters From War.”
The Pottsville School District invested in a new drum line and a sound system. The district also bought an instrument for every student in the sixth grade, to the tune of $30,000, West said.
“It’s a requirement now. They want every kid in sixth grade to be in band. They’re going to provide an instrument for every kid,” West said. “Music is one of the single greatest gifts we can give children, and it’s so great to see a school district so on board with that mentality.
“They’ve done the research — the research is out there. Music literacy and music education will further their overall comprehensive education in every facet because it supports cross-curricular learning.”
West said that in a 45-minute class period in band, students experience literacy, reading comprehension, mathematical equations, science and more.
Music is a living, breathing organism all on its own.” Devin West
NEW POTTSVILLE HIGH SCHOOL BAND DIRECTOR
Dugger said Ray has done a “tremendous job” and will teach the sixth-graders, who are being introduced to band.
Dugger said West’s energy and attitude made a positive impression during his job interview.
“As we interviewed him, we picked up on his dedication to students and his hard work. You could tell how he pours himself into his job and into his kids. We’re excited about that,” Dugger said.
The Pottsville band students have been practicing for about a month, West said.
“I had a lot of kids who have come up to me and said, ‘Mr. West, I was going to quit because I was so scared of change, but this show is awesome, and I’m so glad I didn’t.’”
That means everything to West.
Although he’s an athlete, too, West is passionate about music, not just band.
“So many things go into music. Music is a living, breathing organism all on its own. There’s nothing else in the world that can strike a chord like music can,” he said. “Can you imagine going to watch a movie at the movie theater and having absolutely no music? It would be dreadful. We sing, ‘Happy Birthday.’ We have music at funerals and celebrations of life. Whenever you come into the world, there’s songs of praises, and whenever you leave. Music is totally encompassing of your life from start to end.”
But he also loves marching band, and that’s where he said he excels.
“I’m on the cutting edge of marching band. My dearest friends are at the forefront of the marching arts. I have friends all over the globe who do marching band at a high level,” he said.
Because of that, West said, he has fresh ideas about band. He said that in Pottsville, he will introduce a “thematic” style of marching band, rather than the traditional corps or militaristic style.
“I do more of show theater,” he said. “That’s the way marching arts are going.”
He expects Pottsville to improve its standing in marching contests, too.
“I hope to place in the top 10, top five in the state contest. We were fourth from last in the 4A bracket this year,” he said.
West said winning is not his main goal. He wants to set up students “and their future families” to be successful in life. He wants students to get a degree, show up for work early, “make a 110 percent effort.”
“That means more to me than a piece of plastic or ring will ever mean. But if that’s the goal, to make an individual kid the best he can be, the rest of the accolades will come, but that’s not my primary focus. That will never be my primary focus.
“My goal is to make the kids better than they were yesterday. I’ll be perfectly honest with you — I don’t care about championships. … What interests me is kids going to school free. What interests me is a chance for kids to get out of a bad situation.”
West is living proof that one teacher can make a difference.