Dieruff High School, back in the 1950s, was originally built to serve as a junior high school. As Allentown\u2019s East Side grew, it opened instead as a high school without the appropriate facilities to meet the needs of its students. More than six decades later, Dieruff remains the only high school in the Lehigh Valley without the proper athletic facilities its students deserve.<\/p>\n
For years, one of the biggest obstacles was money. Allentown School District has a history of significant financial challenges and limited resources to address the needs of students across the district.<\/p>\n
As a state senator, I have worked with my colleagues in Harrisburg to secure significant new resources for Allentown School District and put it in a much stronger financial position. There is still more work to do, but today the district has the ability to make investments that were out of reach for far too long.<\/p>\n
Those investments include expanding mental health support, investing in professional development for teachers and staff, strengthening math supports through the launch of an Algebra I Academy in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania, giving students greater access to financial literacy education, and strengthening partnerships with local employers and industry to prepare students for the jobs of tomorrow. These are just a few of the long-overdue investments now being made across the district.<\/p>\n
Additionally, Allentown School District has developed a roughly $17.4 million plan for Andre Reed Park and the Dieruff practice field. The plan would provide a regulation track, football and soccer fields, baseball and softball facilities, tennis and basketball courts, a new field house and other improvements.<\/p>\n
This investment is about more than just sports. It is about providing Dieruff students with the same opportunities as students at other high schools across the Lehigh Valley and giving student-athletes facilities they can call their own.<\/p>\n
Anyone who has played a team sport knows the impact goes far beyond wins and losses. Athletics teach teamwork, discipline and leadership. They build confidence, create friendships and give students another connection to their school and community.<\/p>\n
This investment can also strengthen Andre Reed Park for Allentown\u2019s East Side while preserving public access. The goal should be straightforward: provide Dieruff students with the facilities they need while ensuring families and residents continue to have access to quality recreational space in their own community.<\/p>\n
A project of this size requires Allentown and Allentown School District to work together and address legitimate concerns. The Allentown School Board has already approved moving forward with this investment. The next step is for the city and district to finalize an agreement that provides Dieruff students with the facilities they need while protecting public access to Andre Reed Park.<\/p>\n
We have seen significant investment, growth and new opportunities across the Lehigh Valley. Allentown\u2019s East Side, including its young people, deserves to share in that progress.<\/p>\n
For more than 60 years, Dieruff athletes have boarded buses just to practice and prepare for \u201chome\u201d games. They have represented Allentown with pride despite not having the same facilities as their peers across the Lehigh Valley.<\/p>\n
We finally have the resources, a plan and an opportunity to change that. Let\u2019s get it done and deliver for Dieruff students and the East Side.<\/p>\n
This is a contributed opinion column. State Sen. Nick Miller is a Democrat representing parts of Lehigh and Northampton counties. The views expressed in this piece are those of its individual author(s), and should not be interpreted as reflecting the views of this publication. For more details on commentaries, read our guide to guest opinions at themorningcall.com\/opinions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dieruff High School, back in the 1950s, was originally built to serve as a junior high school. As…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":282945,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[119,153,155,154,433,1559,28],"class_list":["post-282944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-allentown","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news","tag-lehigh-county","tag-opinion","tag-pennsylvania"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=282944"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282944\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/282945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=282944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=282944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=282944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}