DUQUESNE, Pa. — Duquesne City School District is on the rebound, bringing back students and athletics.
“My dad, mom, and aunts [all played],” said A’ryah Scott, while Tyrone Leonard said his “cousins and uncles [played].”
For seventh-graders Scott and Leonard, playing for Duquesne is like a rite of passage. That’s because many families like theirs were a part of a winning legacy at Duquesne City School.
“I knew that there had been some financial struggles,” said, Superintendent Dr. Sue Mariani.
But in 2012, the district lost its athletic program.
At that time, the school also lost its seventh and eighth grade students, who were moved to West Mifflin and East Allegheny; something, Mariani, vowed to restore.
“By restoring athletics, we give our kids an outlet, and we get to build on a rich tradition that Duquesne had already established,” said Mariani.
With a mission in hand, she began to build a team of educators, leaders, and alum who would work to build back the Dukes in school size.
“Last year we ended the school year with 369 students, and now this year we have 435,” said Mariani.
And in sports, “it was always my dream just to be able to play on that field,” said DiAngelo Mitchell, the newly announced Athletic Director.
Mitchell, who graduated from West Mifflin high school in 2015, never had the opportunity to play for the district due to the suspended athletic program, and knows its importance.
“There are so many distractions around the community, and athletics takes us away from that and gives us something to look forward to,” said Mitchell.
After a decade of having no middle school students and no athletic program, the school will welcome football, basketball, volleyball, track and cheerleading back to Duquesne City School.
“A community that was fractured when it lost its middle school is now healing and rebuilding, and it exciting,” said Mariani.
The school district plans to bring back its athletic program this fall.
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