Louis E. Dieruff High School

Infobox school | name = Louis E. Dieruff High School
established = 1959
name2=Louis E. Dieruff High School, Allentown, Pennsylvania
type = Public
location = 815 North Irving Street,
Allentown, Pennsylvania
enrollment = 1,846
free_label = Mascot
free_text = The Husky
free_label2 = Colors
free_text2 = Grey and Blue
principal = James Moniz
website = [http://www.allentownsd.org/DieruffHS/ Louis E. Dieruff High School web site]

Louis E. Dieruff High School (typically referred to as Dieruff High School) is a public high school located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The school is named after Louis E. Dieruff, a noted educator in the Allentown School District.

The school, founded in 1959, is located at 815 North Irving Street in Allentown. It serves students in grades nine through 12 from the eastern and northern parts of the city. The Allentown School District serves a largely poor population including extensive government housing areas. Of Dieruff students, 58 percent are eligible for free or reduced lunch with a district wide eligibility of 68 percent (10/2007), versus a 35 percent average for the state [http://www.pde.state.pa.us/food_nutrition/cwp/view.asp?a=5&Q=45622&food_nutritionNav=%7C3296%7C] .

Allentown's other public high school, William Allen High School (founded in 1858 as Allentown High School), serves students from the western and southern parts of the city. Dieruff is the smaller of the two schools.

History

Dieruff High School is filled with sierians Its construction began in 1957 as a prospective junior high school to serve the growing population of Allentown. In 1965 the Allentown School District Planetarium was added to the building. Additional classrooms and the The East Branch of the Allentown Public Library (later closed and converted to classrooms) were built in 1970.

Dieruff is scheduled for a $28 million renovation and expansion as part of the Allentown School District's Comprehensive Facilities Plan. Its scheduled completion date is Winter 2008 [http://www.allentownsd.org/Facilities/PDF/10_Proposed_Plan.pdf] .

On September 7, 2008 just before 3pm, a tornado about 50 yards wide touched down causing minor damage to the school. This caused for classes on September 8, September 9, and September 10th 2008 to be canceled to clean up. [http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-tornado-09072008,0,562067.story]

Awards and achievements

Athletic accomplishments

Football::

*1980: Undefeated champions (10-0-1), Lehigh Valley Conference (formerly known as the East Penn Conference).
*1981: Tri-champions with (Emmaus High School and Whitehall High School), East Penn Conference.

tudent accomplishments

Dieruff High School has had many students who have won various individual awards and competitions, including:

*"National Merit Scholars"
*Four "Pennsylvania State Advanced Placement Scholars" (2006)
*Three-Straight 4th Place finishes in the Pennsylvania State "We The People" Competition in Philadelphia (2005-2007)
*Olympiad of the Mind runner-ups (2005)
*Three-Straight 1st Place finishes in the Midwest Regional JROTC Drill Competition in Galloway, Ohio
*JROTC Drill Midwest Region Champions: 2004-2005-2006
*Two-Straight 1st Place finishes in the Eastern Regional JROTC Drill Competition in Sewell, New Jersey (2005-2006)
*JROTC Drill Norhteast Region Champions: 2000-2002-2003-2006
*2006 AJROTC Dieruff Huskies PA-011 National Drill Champions #1 Team in the Nation.
*2nd Place, Group 1A Marching Band, US Scholastic Band Association's Yamaha Cup. "Best Percussion," and "Best Music" awards, Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, 2006.

Mascot

The school's mascot, an Alaskan husky, is an actual husky dog named "Kiska IV" (now the fourth dog mascot so named by the school since 1959). The husky is named in honor of the 10 men and women captured by the Japanese on Kiska Island in 1942, during World War II, some of whom were Allentown servicemen. Dieruff's teams are known as "Huskies".

Planetarium

Amidst Cold War fears of science education inadequacy and a general interest in astronomy before the Moon landing, the Allentown School District erected a planetarium inside Louis E. Dieruff High School in 1965 [http://www.astronomy.org/history/index.html] .

Following an acrimonious budget debate in 1991, wherein all programs that were deemed as "nonessential" were to be removed from the Allentown School District's budget, all funding for the continued operation and upkeep of the planetarium has come from private sources.

Athletics

Dieruff competes in the Lehigh Valley Conference in District XI of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA). The conference is generally considered one of the most competitive in the state and nation and has produced many professional athletes.

The school plays its home football, soccer, and field hockey games at J. Birney Crum Stadium, which, with a 15,000 capacity, is the second largest high school stadium in Pennsylvania.

Dieruff is known for its powerhouse baseball team. The team won the 4A state championship for the 2007 season with an undefeated record of 25-0. The team also had 3 of its players taken in the Major League Baseball draft. Catcher Mark Klucharich, Second baseman Bobby Synder, and First baseman Erik Mauser were all selected in the 3rd round. Klucharich, who batted .634 with 9 home runs, 17 doubles, and 36 runs batted in was taken by the Chicago Cubs. Synder, who batted .589 with 11 triples and 41 stolen bases was taken by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Mauser, who led the team with 21 home runs and 56 runs batted in was taken by the Houston Astros. All 3 were selected to play in the 2009 Futures All Star Game in St. Louis. Some have called the team, "the greatest high school baseball team ever in the history of Pennsylvania baseball."

Clubs and Activities

Academic Bowl,Acceptance Club,AFJROTC,Art Club,Band (Marching Band, Jazz Band, Concert Band),Band Front,Chess Team,Choir,Class Councils,Dance Team,Debate Team,Drama Club,Environmental Club,Future Educators Association,German Honor Society,Historian Club,International Club,Key Club,"The Leader" Newspaper,"Ledannus" Yearbook,Library Club,National Honor Society,Physical Fitness Club,SADD,Scholastic Scrimmage,School Council,Science Club,Ski Club,Spanish Honor Society,Stage Crew,Strategic Gaming Club,Student Council,Student Forum, andWeightlifting Club

Notable alumni

*Andre Reed, former professional football player, Buffalo Bills and Washington Redskins.

Alma Mater

Dieruff High School be our stay very proudly Blue and Gray.May we for thy spirits yearn, help us 'ere to seek and learn.Now hail our Alma Mater proud and may we proudly say.To you we ever will belong, we salute you Blue and Gray.

References

External links

* [http://www.allentownsd.org/DieruffHS Louis E. Dieruff High School Official Web Site] .
* [http://www.allentownsd.org/Drf.htm Louis E. Dieruff High School at Allentown School District] .
* [http://www.publicschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/68411 Louis E. Dieruff High School at "Public School Review"] .
* [http://www.highschoolsports.net/defaultcal_300.cfm?school=PA1810969252 Louis E. Dieruff High School athletics schedule and scores] at HighSchoolSports.net.
* [http://www.lviac.net/dieruff.asp Louis E. Dieruff Page at Lehigh Valley Conference Official Web Site] .

*PAGENAME is at coordinates coord|40.62167|-75.44|type:edu|display=inline,title

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name = Lehigh Valley Conference
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Allen High School•wrap
Allentown Central Catholic High School•wrap
Bethlehem Catholic High School•wrap
Dieruff High School•wrap
Easton Area High School•wrap
Emmaus High School•wrap
Freedom High School•wrap
Liberty High School•wrap
Nazareth Area High School•wrap
Northampton Area High School•wrap
Parkland High School•wrap
Whitehall High School•wrap