Benjamin Luis Perez is the proud Director of Bands and Percussion Director at Franklin High School, in El Paso, Texas. Prior to Franklin, Benjamin worked at Bel Air High School where he helped lead their band and percussion programs to become top competitors and award winners at Bands of America, UIL, WGI, WGAZ, and WTCA. Most notably, Benjamin starred on the YouTube his series Create Together, where he led a worldwide project with his students and Hollywood actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt to help represent the Class of 2020 during the Covid-19 Pandemic. The show became an Emmy Award winning production for Outstanding Innovation in Interactive Programming.

Benjamin Perez holds a bachelor’s degree in Music Education with a Minor in Mathematics from New Mexico State University, and recently graduated with a master’s degree in Percussion Performance from the University of Texas at El Paso. As a student and as a musician he has performed with multiple groups including the El Paso Wind Symphony, Las Cruces Symphony Orchestra, the UTEP Symphony Orchestra and the New Mexico State University Philharmonic Orchestra. 

Currently, aside from being a director at Franklin High School, he is also a composer, arranger, and show designer for marching and winter guard percussion. Recently Benjamin was named the Percussion Liaison/Coordinator for the West Texas Color Guard Association (WTCA). This is where he has founded and established the percussion division for the El Paso and Las Cruces area. This is the first time the winter guard circuit (WTCA) has included percussion in their competitions, and it is continuously growing each year allowing more schools to participate.

Benjamin is an active clinician in the region and is also an active member of the Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Bandmasters Association, and Percussive Arts Society.

David Austin Bouma is proudly serving the Franklin High School Band as an Assistant Band Director. Prior to his current position at Franklin, David worked in the Alamogordo Public Schools as the Alamogordo High School Director of Bands from the spring of 2019 to the spring of 2023. While in Alamogordo, David also served as the Alamogordo High School Orchestra Director in addition to becoming the Music Coordinator for the Alamogordo Public Schools. With the help of his team, David led the Alamogordo Tiger Band to become a top competitor at Bands of America, Zia Marching Fiesta, SISD Marchfest, and the Tournament of Bands, earning awards for Top-of-Class among many caption awards. Under the direction of David Bouma, the Alamogordo Tiger Band earned placements in the Finals competitions for the first time in over a decade. In addition to leading the band proper, David was the director for an award-winning jazz band and an orchestra who earned excellent and superior ratings at the district large group festivals.

David Bouma holds a bachelor's degree in Music Education from New Mexico State University. As a student musician, David performed with multiple groups including the New Mexico State Wind Symphony, the New Mexico State Philharmonic Orchestra, and the New Mexico State University Jazz 1 where he and his peers traveled to Spain to represent Jazz in a foreign country. It was with the NMSU Jazz Band that David played trombone on an award-winning studio album. David is an accomplished low brass musician, with roots in euphonium and bass trombone playing. 

In addition to being a band director, David Bouma is a proud husband to Claudette, and father to Faye. Many of his friends and family, including his spouse, are proud alumni of the Franklin High School Star of the West Band. Due to his close ties to the program, he says he "feels at home" with the Franklin Band.

David is an active member of the Texas Music Educators Association, the New Mexico Music Educators Association, National Association for Music Education, and the International Tuba Euphonium Association.

Patrick Anthony Caraveo is an Assistant Director of Bands at Franklin High School in El Paso, Texas. Patrick Caraveo recently graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Music Education from The University of Texas at El Paso. During his undergraduate studies, Patrick performed with the UTEP Wind Symphony, UTEP Jazz 1 Ensemble, the Marching Miners, and the Guardians Drum and Bugle Corps. Through these ensembles, Patrick has performed at various events such as the American Bandmasters Association (ABA) Convention and the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) Convention. In addition, Patrick is an alumni of the Honorary Band Fraternity, Kappa Kappa Psi where he held various leadership roles such as Chapter President and Southwest District President.

Outside of being a director at Franklin High School, Patrick is an avid performer with the ‘Bomb Squad Brass Quintet’ and an Instructor with the Arsenal Drum and Bugle Corps located in El Paso, Texas.

Patrick Caraveo is an active member of the Texas Music Educators Association.

Paula Daniela Esparza is currently serving as the Guard Director for the Franklin Focus Color Guard. As the director she has led the group to receive high accolades and awards, including most recently being named the 2023 WTCA Regional A Silver Medalists. Prior to working at Franklin, Paula has served as an instructor and assistant at multiple high schools around the El Paso area including Pebble Hills, Eastwood, Bel Air, Riverside, Socorro, and Chapin. 

Aside from teaching guard, Paula is also a choreographer as well as a performer with Glory Independent. As a member of Glory Independent, she has traveled around the country performing for WGI Regionals and Super Regionals, and has been named a WGI World Champions Finalist for both the Independent A and Open Class divisions. 

While Paula has a strong passion for teaching, she is currently studying at the university level to pursue her career as a Registered Nurse. Currently a Certified Nursing Assistant, she plans to push past her bachelor's degree and one day pursue a career as a Nurse Practitioner. She hopes that her students can see her passion and belief in higher education, so that they too can pursue their dreams and goals no matter what obstacles may be in their way. 

Dawn Menchaca has a strong passion in teaching, coaching and mentoring. She has been involved at Franklin since 2008. Currently, she is a Business Teacher, Twirler Director, and Adviser for the FBLA Club on the Franklin campus. Dawn Menchaca is a graduate of the Texas Tech Rawls Business School. 

She has 4 sons which include a lawyer, two educators, and a supply chain manager. Dawn believes it is important to share the talents and gifts we have been given, and has twirled since the age of 5. As a twirler she has competed in USTA and NBTA across the nation, and was classified "advanced" and at age 11 when she ranked 5th in the nation. Under her direction, Franklin is the only school in El Paso to have a UIL Baton Twirling Program and Franklin is the only EPISD School to have a FBLA! Dawn Menchaca's goal is to be a role model that inspires all of her students!