Tonight’s homecoming game at Cody High School features more than football—it marks the return of the marching band after 20 years.
Band director Damian Lyles has a clear message: “We are back! Cody High School is back on the block, ready to bring it.”
Here’s the remarkable part: most students are picking up an instrument for the very first time. Made possible by the Out of School Time Grant from Detroit Public Schools Community District Foundation, the program is already transforming lives.
“I watch a lot of shy students begin to open up,” Lyles said. “Some students find new family outside of their regular family, find pride, strength.”
One student put it simply: “After the game, everybody checks up on you. People in there, that’s my family.”
Lyles keeps an old uniform from Cody’s glory days on display—a reminder of when the band marched in the Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Grand Prix, and Pistons championship celebrations.
Now, a new generation is ready to write their own chapter. “I’m excited, nervous at the same time,” Lyles said, “but I believe in my students.”
The band is back. And so is Cody.
