Student Leadership

The goal of any Dragon Band Student Leader is to set an example for all to follow, communicate respectfully and help others to “do it the way I do it.”

Overview

Starting in 2026, Dragon Band Legacy and Dragon Band Horizon will have a full slate of matching student leadership positions:  Drum Majors, Section Leaders and Squad Leaders.  Percussion will have leadership positions designated by their director for both groups and Color Guard will have leadership positions designated by their director for Legacy only as that is the group all color guard students will participate in.

Our traditional student leadership hierarchy has been Drum Majors, Section Leaders, Percussion and Color Guard Leadership and then Squad Leaders.  We also have elected student leaders - Band Officers - and these students do not serve in a teaching or monitoring role nor are they included in the functional student leadership hierarchy.  Instead, the Band Officers serve the organization in social functions and support roles. 

In the past we have chosen students from the Junior Varsity marching band to serve as student conductors and junior leaders in an organizational capacity and supervisory role for the students in JV only.  With the creation of Horizon, these students will be considered full student leaders like their Varsity counterparts traditionally have been and everyone will go through the same audition process to be selected.

Position Titles

  • Legacy Drum Major

  • Horizon Drum Major

  • Legacy Section Leader

  • Horizon Section Leader

  • Legacy Squad Leader

  • Horizon Squad Leader

  • Legacy Percussion Leadership

  • Legacy Color Guard Leadership*

  • Horizon Percussion Leadership

  • Band Officers - Elected by students

    • President

    • Vice President

    • Secretary

    • Treasurer

    • Historian

    • Librarian

  • Uniform Crew Captain - for the full organization

*Color Guard currently participates only as part of Legacy only

Audition Outcomes

Every student will complete a music audition in May for Fall of the next school year. Those interested in leadership opportunities will also complete an application, essay and interview with the band directors. there are multiple possible outcomes from these auditions as listed below.

ONE

  • Music audition result = Legacy

  • Leadership audition result = Excellent

  • Leadership Outcome = Legacy Leadership

TWO

  • Music audition result = Legacy

  • Leadership audition result = Good

  • Leadership Outcome = Student Choice between Legacy Marching spot, No leadership or Horizon Marching spot+Horizon Leadership

THREE

  • Music audition result = Legacy

  • Leadership audition result = Moderate

  • Leadership Outcome = No position

FOUR

  • Music audition result = Horizon

  • Leadership audition result = Excellent

  • Leadership Outcome = Horizon Leadership

FIVE

  • Music audition result = Horizon

  • Leadership audition result = Good

  • Leadership Outcome = POSSIBLE Horizon Leadership

SIX

  • Music audition result = Horizon

  • Leadership audition result = Moderate

  • Leadership Outcome = No position

Drum Major Positions

Drum Majors will be selected based on a successful music audition (Legacy level) and a successful leadership interview and Drum Major audition.  The top candidates will be selected as Legacy Drum Majors, the next candidates will be presented with the option of accepting a Horizon Drum Major position or keeping their Legacy marching spot.  Should any or all of the next candidates decline the Horizon Drum Major position and keep their Legacy marching spot, the next candidate(s) will be presented with the option.

Leadership Hierarchy

  1. Legacy Drum Major

  2. Horizon Drum Major = Legacy Section Leader = Legacy Percussion or Color Guard Leadership

  3. Legacy Squad Leader = Horizon Section Leader = Horizon Percussion Leadership

  4. Horizon Squad Leader

This structure is only to provide clarity should the need arise for a student leader to make a decision for the group independent of director input.  For example, a Horizon Section Leader can bring a question or issue to a Legacy Squad Leader as equals, the two then bring that to the Legacy Section Leader and/or Horizon Drum Major, depending on the specific issue and the group it most applies to.

The hard expectation is that all student leaders function in a cooperative way with one another and their sections and that all students be treated respectfully regardless of their role within the band program.

Specific Roles

For both Legacy and Horizon, our section leaders and squad leaders will have some specific roles that differ slightly from previous years.  

For each section in Legacy and Horizon, all student leaders will assist with teaching both music and movement but there will be a designated LEAD teacher for each of those things.  AND, one person will be responsible for Movement Pass Offs and one person for Music Pass Offs for each section in both Legacy and Horizon.  That way everyone knows who to see to pass things off when it comes time.

Ideally each section of both Legacy and Horizon will have the following.  These roles can be section leaders or squad leaders.

  • 1 Lead Music Teacher

  • 1 Lead Movement Teacher

  • 1 Music Pass Off Leader

  • 1 Movement Pass Off Leader

  • 1 Liaison

In case a given section does not have this many leaders the roles will have to be combined in a way that is suitable and reasonable for that group of leaders to handle.

The Liaison is intended to ensure that communication is continually passed from one group of leaders to the other.  This can be things like important reminders and announcements or social events.  These students will have the added duty of meeting with one another on a regular (at least 1 time per week) basis to check in with one another and gauge each group’s progress.

All section leadership will meet with directors to determine which students will fill these designated roles.

Drum Majors for both groups are expected to work together as a team to lead the entire band and to see to each of their group’s needs for rehearsals, games and contests.

An example section (trumpets in this case) leadership could look like this:

Legacy Trumpets

  • Section Leader - Music Teaching, Movement Pass Offs

  • Squad Leader A - Movement Teacher

  • Squad Leader B - Music Pass Offs

Horizon Trumpets

  • Section Leader - Movement Teacher, Music Pass Offs

  • Squad Leader A - Music Teacher

  • Squad Leader B - Movement Pass Offs

  • Squad Leader C

An example scenario for the same section would look like this:

imaginary “Day 5 of Summer Band”

Legacy Trumpets

  • Section Leader - covers movement pass offs in the morning block, then teaches a new stand tune during the afternoon music block

  • Squad Leader A - teaches movement during the morning block

  • Squad Leader B - covers music pass offs during the afternoon block

Horizon Trumpets

  • Section Leader - Teaches movement during the morning block, passes off music during the afternoon block

  • Squad Leader A - Teaches music during the afternoon block

  • Squad Leader B - Covers Movement pass offs during the afternoon block

  • Squad Leader C - Is not the primary teacher or pass off person but will still assist with teaching both music and movement throughout the day

Leadership Training

All student leaders will attend summer leadership training before we start summer band and our lead music and movement leaders will have specific instructions for those areas.

  • Lead music leaders will attend special training

  • Lead visual leaders will attend special training

  • Pass off leaders will attend special training

Inspection and Other Duties

At inspection, both Legacy and Horizon student leaders will be responsible for their unique inspection reports.

A designated leader (Legacy or Horizon) in each section will be the Restroom Captain during football games for the full season.  That person will designate a substitute if the need arises.

A designated leader (Legacy or Horizon) in each section will be the Bus Captain for the full season.  The person will designate a substitute if the need arises.

Leadership Meetings

All student leaders will also attend regular leadership meetings throughout the year.

Interested in Student Leadership?

More to know and consider:

  • In a given year we have between 120-150 students interested in leadership positions.

  • We cannot have that number of student leaders so you must know that not every candidate will be selected.

  • If you are interested in any student leadership position, please complete the interest form by Monday, April 6th. We will send you the link to the application at that time.

  • Leadership Interviews will take place the week of May 4th during band classes.

  • Many students ask - what are you looking for in a leader?

    • Great attendance

    • Obvious positive presence and visibility within our band program

    • A great attitude and work ethic

    • Strong communication skills

    • Excellent musical skill

    • The desire to work with others as a team

    • Approachability

    • A willingness to step out of your comfort zone

    • Well developed situational awareness

  • There are very few, if any, students who have all of these things to the highest degree. Most students have at least some and there are some characteristics that may be stronger or more clear than others. That is ok and totally normal!

  • In thinking about yourself as a candidate and your relationship to the qualities listed above:

    • Do you possess any of these characteristics?

    • Which ones and to what degree?

    • Do you have any that you’re not strong at?

    • Are there ways to address those deficiencies?

    • How might you capitalize on your strengths?

  • Before you sign up and complete the application, please think carefully about why you want to be a leader and decide if you are able to fully commit to the role