Deer Lakes High School - Accolade Yearbook (Cheswick, PA)

Page 30 text:

TRANSITION . . . Times Bring Changes DEER LAKES SCHOOL DISTRICT Townships of Location East Deer Allegheny County Frazer Time West Deer 1925-1982 SCHOOL ORIGINS West Deer Township was mainly a rural community. Population centers in the township were mainly clustered around the sites of the coal mines, the predominant industry of the community until the 1960's, The rural vastness of West Deer was interrupted by housing developments that started during the 1950's (Magill Heights, Fawn Haven and Deer Park during the 1970's). Children of the West Deer Communities attended elementary schools akin to the population centers, Curtisville, Russeliton, Bairdford, and E. Union Elementary Schools. 2 ee ee Meee Fo 4 wile i Pa ia : eee ee TS Se ey POSE x Curtisville Elementary Schoo! East Deer with its hilly terrain but conve- nient access to rail-water-highway trans- portation developed as an industrial area, Children attended a single elementary school presently identified as the JFK Ele- mentary School located within the popu- lation center, Creighton. Frazer Township, mainly rural, scenic but not heavily populated officially merged with East Deer Township in 1948, beginning the East Deer-Frazer Schoo! District (ED- FRA). usd Bairdford Elementary School 20

Page 29 text:

I Typical lecture. Cool guy! Just a natural pos Hard at work! eo —

Page 31 text:

... A BREAK IN TRADITION The first high schoo! built within the three districts was East Deer, in 1925. East Deer High School became a four year high schoolin 1939. When the East Deer-Frazer merger occurred, grades 9-12 were educated in the single building located along Route 28 in Creighton. In 1943, West Deer High Schoo! opened its doors to West Deer Students. Prior to the construction of WD, students desiring a high school education had to provide their own transportation to surrounding high schools, East Deer, Tarentum, Springdale, Etna, Voca- tional agriculture classes were taught as part of the early curriculum of West Deer. As aresult of state department legislation, a merging of the two school districts, East Deer-Frazer and West Deer, took place in 1969, marking the beginning of the Deer Lakes School District. In 1973 the present Deer Lakes Senior High School was completed. The building, located in West Deer Township, was considered a central location for students of the three townships. Grades 9-12 were contained in the senior high building. The former West Deer High Schoo! was renovated to accommodate DL Junior High School students, grades 7-8. Eventually the former East Deer High School building was sold, Russellton Elementary School was closed, and the Deer Lakes School District operated during the 70's with a complex of four elementary and separate junior and senior high schools. As the decade continued, population within the communities increased somewhat, but later in the 70’s the student enrollment in the schools began to plummet. The first graduating classes of DLHS graduated 300 students. By 1984 the senior class ranks had diminished to 240 students with lessening class numbers persistent throughout the lower grades. Changes had to occur withing the education structure again. ; ... Changes Bring Challenges ... A combination of woes, local economics, infla- tion, community input, declining enrollment, less state and federal financial support, were among the factors responsible for triggering changes approved by the Deer Lakes School Board in the spring of 1982. With information provided by a citizens advisory committee, influence of ap- pealing and concerned citizens, and local school district data the following revisions, effective for the 1982-83 school year, were confirmed: (1) Bairford and Curtisville Elemtary Schools youd close their doors at the end of the 1982 erm. (2) The Deer Lakes Junior High School would contain facilities for grades 3-6 (3) Grades 7-12 would be accommodated in the Deer Lakes Senior High Schoo! building. In all remaining buildings, adjustments were necessary in order to accommodate the differ- ent age groups and numbers of students. Reor- ganizing of materials and equipment took place during the summer, but the most drastic structur- al changes were completed in the senior high school during the spring of 1982. The second floor open space teaching area was converted to 15 individual classroom units. While junior and senior high school students will co-exist in the single building, scheduling of classes for these groups was to be effected to retain the JHS-SHS segre- gation as much as possible. As the controversy, discussion and resolution of the problems pertaining to the new arrange- ment for the Deer Lakes School District coursed its way through the minds and thoughts of all concerned, students, administrators, teachers, board members, citizens and parents, a definite streak of optimism was prevalent, too. We some- times resist changes to existing conditions be- cause we fear losing something we believe to be very effective and functional. Yet, changes in all three communities occurred in the past. Changes in existing patterns and the ability to deal with them effectively are common phe- nomena of life. Thus, as the final strains of “Fiddler on The Roof’ (a musical descriptive of a family-community stresses related to forced breaks in long estab- Pictures above show DI. custodians constructing the individual olsen) aia its pee on shea the ope , GN analogy can be ma ecaaelh Si i‘ se tas phage eh a ee Own circumstance. Tradition, a beautiful some- erected in a large science : times convenient code to which we can cling, is not always enough to allow present existence and progress to occur. On the other hand, the changes and decisions we make today become the challenges of tomorrow! Edited by Marta Braun