No one expected much from Locke High at the L.A. Unified School District’s band competition. After all, they’re just a so-so school in Watts.
But they have a couple of tricks up their band uniforms.
They’re playing complicated Stephen Sondheim music from “Sweeney Todd.” The band director is an inspirational taskmaster. And the kids are determined to prove that their school is as good as any other school anywhere.
RELATED STORIES:
Return to Locke High - Producer Angela Shelley - Locke High School sits in the center of rival gang territory in Watts. Fights. Graffiti. Truancy. Apathy. All daily occurrences at the notorious, sprawling campus where students were more likely to drop out than graduate. But now there's a new sheriff in town and the school has been transformed. Can the charter company Green Dot also transform the lives of the kids?
Want to subscribe to SoCal Connected's RSS feed? Click here.
Really, really, magnificent journalism. One of the truest stories of this city I've seen anywhere. Well done. Hi to Vicki Curry.
-Jill Leovy
This show was fantastic. Very moving. Thank you.
MORE MORE MORE!