SALT LAKE CITY — Diana Mayorga is one of many students who live on the west side of Salt Lake City, but are East High Leopards.

“I’m personally from the west side; they commute to East High,” Mayorga said. “I know there may be difficulties, but by working and making new and innovative ideas, we can make something really powerful and inseparable.”

One of the ideas she and other student leaders have come up with is to host the school’s fall dance on the west side of town.

“The reason behind changing the location of our dance is for everyone to feel united and for there to be something on the west side so everyone knows it’s inclusive and brings awareness to everyone,” Mayorga said.

“Looking for ideas to get to the west side, the smartest thing I did was teach the kids, because they always have the best ideas,” East High Principal Ryan Oaks said.

One of Oaks’ goals in his first year as principal is to make all students and families feel part of the East High community. He says he and other school administrators are actively trying to go to the west side to build relationships with families.

“We have a very unique border. We stretch from Hogle Zoo to Glendale, which brings a very unique set of challenges, but I always say every challenge brings opportunity,” he said.

East High is doing things like holding parent-teacher conference nights at Glendale Middle School to make the commute easier for parents and students on the west side — something families have requested. The school administration also physically attends several meetings on the west side to learn their concerns and see what is working. East High also has The Dance Krew – a primarily hip-hop based dance group with a focus on diversity and teamwork.

“East High is trying to do something that’s really challenging, really rewarding and really cool,” the Oaks principal said. “The name might be East High, but it belongs to all these students from the east side, the west side and everywhere in between.”

Saturday’s dance is one of many student-led initiatives, but the work doesn’t stop on the dance floor.

“I hope it’s the first of many to come,” Mayorga said.