The Academy Eagle Marching Band’s Mini Drum Major

Halftime is showtime for Atlanta Public Schools (APS) marching bands, and every school in the district has its own unique performance style, music selection, and dance team ready to entertain fans in the stands every game day.

However, if you’ve attended a The B.E.S.T. Academy at The Thomas W. Dortch, Jr. Institute (B.E.S.T. Academy) football game in the last two years, you might’ve noticed something you don’t usually see in most marching band performances.

The Academy Eagle Marching Band (The Academy Band) is already unique in being a band comprised of middle school and high school students from B.E.S.T. Academy and The Coretta Scott King Young Women’s Leadership Academy (CSK).

Still, band director Jason Flake added a new wrinkle to his program by adding the youngest drum major in Atlanta Public Schools to the band.

Photos By: Jessica Mynatt

Cori Barnes II, a second-grade student at West Manor Elementary School, has been high-stepping and hitting splits with The Academy Band for select games the past two years and has become a part of the band family.

He performed in the 2026 Homecoming performance and at this year’s APS Marching Band Showcase in full dress, guiding the band alongside his co-drum major, Jace Earl Lee.

“Mr. Flakes is very creative in his approach,” Cori’s mother Marie Box-Barnes said. “This is Cori’s second year, and I was happy that he asked him again. I was impressed to know that he can do it and that he worked extremely hard to do so.”

Cori’s initial connection to the band goes through CSK. His mother is the bookkeeper for the school. His older sister, Corine Barnes, is the lead captain for the CSK Dance team, and his cousin, Kemina Lane, is the assistant captain for the CSK Dance team.

“It’s all about community,” Flakes said. “When you have that kind of support in the community, it really makes your job easier, and it makes the job fun. Also, it’s teaching these students at an early age, like Cori, that this is something that they can dream big about and participate in. This is something that they could participate in later in life at colleges and universities that will allow them to flourish and get academic scholarships, band scholarships, music scholarships, and those kinds of financial assistance to help them be who they see themselves being one day.”

In 2025, after watching his sister and the band practice, he expressed interest in joining the band. So, they took the idea to Flakes and he welcomed the idea with one condition.

“I asked Cori to repeat a speech that I think his sister told me that he had to learn in class at his elementary school,” Flakes said. “I always hold our students accountable as scholars first. Academics is very important to me because yes, the band can roll on, but we can’t roll if those students are not sound in instruction and the other disciplines. I asked him to repeat it, because again, it teaches hard work, dedication, and so many other attributes that we want students like Cori to learn if one day they can come to this program and be a part of it.”

Since then, Cori has been an honorary member of The Academy Band. The busy second-grader has swim practice on Saturdays and baseball practice on Mondays, but during the middle of the week his parents, Marie and Cori Barnes, make a way to get him from West Manor to BEST/ CSK for band practice.

“It can be hard to get him to practices, but my daughter is very good about making sure that Cori does what he needs to do,” Marie said. “And Mr. Flakes makes sure that all the responsibilities the regular band members had, Cori had too.”

At band practice, lead drum major Jase Earley helps Cori practice his marching and handling the baton. He also practices more at home, where his mom role plays as the band director while he and his sister go through their routines.

“I love that people help me, and I love that everybody is nice in the band and my sister,” Cori said. “It’s very cool performing with my sister. I like it because I don’t have to be by myself. The best part is when I do the splits.”

While Cori brings a younger element into the band’s performance, The Academy Band still puts on a show that displays the creativity and musicianship of its students. The homecoming show, the Marching Band Showcase performance, and every other performance is a result of months of preparation. The development of this year’s homecoming show was one of the band’s STEAM initiatives to start the school year.

“We started with our leadership camp that happened in the second week of July with six students who were here on campus creating the vision for this year,” Flakes said. “We try to be as creative as possible and do those things that our kids enjoy. Things that really paint a picture of art on the football field rather than just performing for an audience. We want the audience to understand and see something different from what they see from other programs around the metro area.”

Cori, the mini drum major, is a special addition to a halftime show that you likely won’t see anywhere else. He said that he wants to be a “business worker” and be in the movies when he gets older.

“I’m proud of Cori and I think he’s capable of doing all things,” Marie said. “With the help of the band director, as well as his sister, pushing him and motivating him, he’s going to do great things. This will not be your last time seeing him.”