A Place of Their Own
The main reason Julie Fisher Cummings, Kingswood class of 1973, convinced her husband Peter to move from Florida to Michigan in 1989 was to enable their children to experience Cranbrook Schools. Casey, their oldest son, spent two years at Cranbrook; Tony, CK’98, and Caroline, CK’99, had all their formative years at Cranbrook while living at home.
Substantial evidence that Cranbrook won the hearts of the entire Cummings family was offered earlier this year with the announcement of a $5 million gift for a new Cranbrook Kingswood Middle School for Girls – Kingswoodbuilding. The gift comes through the support of the Peter and Julie Cummings Family Foundation.”
“Julie’s generous gift will make a significant impact on the future success of our Girls’ Middle School students,” says Arlyce Seibert, Director of Cranbrook Schools. “While our students do well in their current setting, they are in serious need of room to grow. Having more classrooms and lab space will help propel them to the next level of achievement.”
Currently, the Girls’ Middle School is located on the garden level of Kingswood, below the Upper School classrooms. Going to and from the dining hall, emerging from assemblies or taking to the playing fields, the middle school students constantly mix with their older counterparts. With a new building, Girls’ Middle School students will have their own space in which to learn, eat, play, study and find themselves as individuals.
A total of $16 million must be raised to construct and fund this new building, designed by Lake/Flato Architects of San Antonio, Tex., in partnership with local architects Ghafari & Associates. “It’s a privilege and a joy for my generation of alumnae to be able to take the lead in giving back,” Cummings says. “This school and this community molded us into what we are today, not only professionally but in terms of our values, our life philosophies. The Girls’ Middle School has a very special place in my life and in the life of our daughter, Caroline.”
The new building will provided increased space for classrooms, labs and athletic facilities while paving the way for new, leading-edge classroom technologies. The structure will be located near Cranbrook Institute of Science, opening doors for more partnerships between the two institutions and more hands-on, real-world science experiences for the girls. When the building is completed, it will retain the name Kingswood, creating an historical link to Kingswood School, which from 1932 to 1095 was the name of the girls school.
“Maintaining that link between the past and the present is very important,” Cummings says. “I wanted the new building to bear the Kingswood name to help reinforce the bond among the generations of women who have shared the magic of an all-girls’ education.“
To read more of Cummings' reflections, please read her article featured in Women's eNews by clicking here.
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“Julie’s generous gift will make a significant impact on the future success of our Girls’ Middle School students,” says Arlyce Seibert, Director of Cranbrook Schools. “While our students do well in their current setting, they are in serious need of room to grow. Having more classrooms and lab space will help propel them to the next level of achievement.”
Currently, the Girls’ Middle School is located on the garden level of Kingswood, below the Upper School classrooms. Going to and from the dining hall, emerging from assemblies or taking to the playing fields, the middle school students constantly mix with their older counterparts. With a new building, Girls’ Middle School students will have their own space in which to learn, eat, play, study and find themselves as individuals.
A total of $16 million must be raised to construct and fund this new building, designed by Lake/Flato Architects of San Antonio, Tex., in partnership with local architects Ghafari & Associates. “It’s a privilege and a joy for my generation of alumnae to be able to take the lead in giving back,” Cummings says. “This school and this community molded us into what we are today, not only professionally but in terms of our values, our life philosophies. The Girls’ Middle School has a very special place in my life and in the life of our daughter, Caroline.”
The new building will provided increased space for classrooms, labs and athletic facilities while paving the way for new, leading-edge classroom technologies. The structure will be located near Cranbrook Institute of Science, opening doors for more partnerships between the two institutions and more hands-on, real-world science experiences for the girls. When the building is completed, it will retain the name Kingswood, creating an historical link to Kingswood School, which from 1932 to 1095 was the name of the girls school.
“Maintaining that link between the past and the present is very important,” Cummings says. “I wanted the new building to bear the Kingswood name to help reinforce the bond among the generations of women who have shared the magic of an all-girls’ education.“
To read more of Cummings' reflections, please read her article featured in Women's eNews by clicking here.
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