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Louis E. Dieruff High School

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Coordinates: 40°37′18″N 75°26′24″W / 40.62167°N 75.44°W / 40.62167; -75.44
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Louis E. Dieruff High School
File:1976 - Louis E Dieruff High School - Allentown PA.jpg
Louis E. Dieruff High School in Allentown, Pennsylvania
Location
Map
815 North Irving Street

Allentown
,
Lehigh County
,
Pennsylvania
18109

United States
Coordinates40°37′18″N 75°26′24″W / 40.62167°N 75.44°W / 40.62167; -75.44
Information
TypePublic high school
Established1959; 65 years ago (1959)
School districtAllentown School District
SuperintendentC. Russell Mayo
NCES School ID420228002795[1]
PrincipalMichael G. Makhoul
Faculty100.5 (on an FTE basis)
Grades9th–12th
Enrollment1,874 (2020–21)
Student to teacher ratio18.65
Campus typeMidsize city
Color(s)Blue and Gray   
Athletics conferenceEastern Pennsylvania Conference
MascotThe Husky
RivalAllen High School[2]
Websitedrf.allentownsd.org

Louis E. Dieruff High School (typically referred to as Dieruff High School) is a large, urban public high school located in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It is located at 815 North Irving Street in Allentown. The school serves students in grades nine through 12 from the eastern and southern parts of the city and is part of the Allentown School District.

As of 2020-21, the school had 1,874 students, according to National Center for Education Statistics data. Dieruff High School students may choose to attend Lehigh Career and Technical Institute for vocational training in the trades. The Carbon-Lehigh Intermediate Unit IU21 provides the district with a variety of specialized education services, including education for disabled students and hearing, speech and visual disability services and professional development for staff and faculty.

The school is named after Louis E. Dieruff, a noted educator in the Allentown School District. The school mascot is an Alaskan husky named "Kiska" in honor of ten men and women captured by the Japanese on the island of Kiska in 1942 during World War II, some of whom were Allentown servicemen.

History

Louis Edgar Dieruff, an Allentown School District administrator and school board member, for which Dieruff High School is named, 1948

Construction on Louis E. Dieruff High School began in 1958. The building was initially intended to serve as an Allentown School District junior high schoolntown's growing population. It opened in 1959. In 1965, the Allentown School District planetarium was added to the building. Additional classrooms and the East Branch of the Allentown Public Library (later closed and converted to classrooms) were built and added in 1970.

On September 7, 2008, just before 3pm, an EF1 tornado about 50 yards wide touched down, causing minor damage to the school.[3]

In 2009, under the Allentown School District's Comprehensive Facilities Plan,[4] the school launched a $28 million renovation that included the addition of the Michael P. Meilinger wing in 2009, used mostly for freshman classes.

Student demographics

The school's class size is approximately 16 students per teacher with the Pennsylvania average being 15 per teacher. The student ethnicity is 60% Hispanic, 22% White, 15% Black, 2% Asian & Pacific Islander, and less than 2% and Native American & Native Alaskan. 79% of students are eligible for a free or reduced-price lunch with the state average 33%.[5]

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

Student accomplishments

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

  • Three straight fourth place finishes in the Pennsylvania State "We The People" Competition in Philadelphia, 2005, 2006 and 2007
  • Olympiad of the Mind runners-up, 2005
  • Three straight first place finishes in the Midwest Regional JROTC Drill Competition in Galloway, Ohio
  • AFJROTC Drill Midwest Region Champions: 2004, 2005 and 2006
  • Two straight first place finishes in the Eastern Regional JROTC Drill Competition in Sewell, New Jersey, 2005 and 2006
  • AFJROTC Drill Northeast Region Champions: 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2006
  • Second place, Group 1A Marching Band, U.S. Scholastic Band Association's Yamaha Cup. "Best Percussion," and "Best Music" awards, Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, 2006.
  • First place, Group 1A Marching Band, U.S. Scholastic Band Association's Yamaha Cup. giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, 2009
  • Dieruff's 2009 yearbook, The 'L Edition, was selected as a national sample and distributed to other schools as a sample of a good yearbook, and was also picked to be featured in the Yearbook Yearbook, a book displaying the best of the best from Taylor Publishing.
  • 2013 Air Force National JROTC Drill Championship, Second place, Armed Regulation Drill
  • 2013 Air Force National JROTC Drill Championship, Third place, Commanders Trophy-C/MSgt George Lopez, Sean Lee , Alexander Gómez
  • First place, Scholastic Scrimmage, 1975.
  • Second place, Scholastic Scrimmage, 1987.

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 Dieruff High School in 1965.[6]

Following an acrimonious budget debate in 1991, all programs that were deemed as "nonessential" were to be removed from the Allentown School District's budget, and public funding for the planetarium ended with its continued operation and upkeep left to private funding sources. In 2010, the planetarium was closed.[7] The Allentown School District board approved a 2016-17 spending plan that added a number of teacher positions, including a planetarium director to reopen the shuttered planetarium at Dieruff High School, however the position was never filled and the Planetarium was never reopened. After an evaluation in September, the district administration determined it would have cost too much to reopen the planetarium and get it up and running.

Athletics

Program for Dieruff vs. Easton High School football game at Cottingham Stadium in Easton, October 3, 1959
J. Birney Crum Stadium in Allentown is the second largest high school stadium in Pennsylvania and the home field for Dieruff High School's football team.
See also: Eastern Pennsylvania Conference

Dieruff High School competes athletically in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference (EPC) in the District XI division of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, one of the premier high school athletic divisions in the nation.

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

Athletic accomplishments

Boys basketball

  • 1966: District XI Champions/East Penn Conference champions
  • 1967: District XI Champions/East Penn Conference champions
  • 1968: District XI Champions/East Penn Conference champions
  • 1969: District XI champions
  • 1974: East Penn Conference
  • 1977: District XI champions/East Penn Conference champions
  • 1978: East Penn Conference champions
  • 1987: East Penn Conference champions
  • 1988: East Penn Conference champions
  • 1997: East Penn Conference champions

Girls basketball

  • 1975: District XI champions - PIAA state champions
  • 1976: - PIAA state champions
  • 1983: District XI champions

Football::

  • 1961: Lehigh Valley Big 6 champions
  • 1964: Lehigh Valley Big 6 champions
  • 1969: Lehigh Valley Big 8 tri-champions
  • 1971: Lehigh Valley Big 6 champions
  • 1977: East Penn Conference champions
  • 1979: Undefeated champions (10-0-1), East Penn Conference.
  • 1981: Tri-champions with (Emmaus High School and Whitehall High School), East Penn Conference
  • 1992: East Penn Conference champions

Boys track and field

  • 1982: undefeated champions (12-0)
  • 1983: undefeated champions (12-0)

Mascot

The school's mascot, an Alaskan husky, is an actual husky dog named "Kiska VI" (now the sixth dog mascot so named by the school since 1959). The husky is named in honor of the ten 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".

Notable alumni

Notable coaches

Alma mater

Dieruff High School, be our stay, wearing proudly Blue and Gray! May we for thy spirit yearn; Help us e’er to seek and learn. Now, hail our Alma Mater strong And may we proudly say: To you we ever will belong! We salute you, Blue and Gray! Though our days we'll ne'er forget, standards you have firmly set! Hon'ring you we'll always try to live alright o Dieruff high. Now, hail our Alma Mater strong And may we proudly say: To you we ever will belong! We salut you, Blue and Gray!

References

  1. ^ "Search for Public Schools - Louis E. Dieruff High School (420228002795)". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  2. ^ "Hard to believe, but it's rivalry week", The Morning Call, October 26, 2021
  3. ^ "Dieruff cancels classes Monday and Tuesday -- themorningcall.com". Archived from the original on 2008-09-08.
  4. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2006-11-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ "Explore Louis e Dieruff High School in Allentown, PA".
  6. ^ "Astronomy.org". Archived from the original on 2007-02-05. Retrieved 2006-07-09.
  7. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-02-05. Retrieved 2006-07-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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