Parent Leaders Supporting the Cranbrook Kingswood Middle School for Girls – Kingswood

Parents have demonstrated their commitment to Cranbrook Kingswood by leading many fundraising and educational projects over the years, including Kaleidoscope, Brookside Fall Festival and Spring Folic, Booster Club, Mothers’ Council, Dads’ Club, Giftorama, Holiday Tables, Schools’ Annual Fund, Boys’ Middle School renovation, and much more.

And once again, parents have come to the foreground for the new Cranbrook Kingswood Middle School for Girls – Kingswood. With initial lead gifts from several alumnae, including Julie Fisher Cummings, K’73, Pamela Applebaum, K’83, and Barbara Henderson, K’34 along with major gifts from many others, the Kingswood Girls’ Middle School fundraising project is well underway. As of December 2008, we have just under $2 million left to go in our $16 million goal. If completed by January, we will be able to break ground in spring 2009 on this new Cranbrook Kingswood Middle School for Girls – Kingswood campus.  We thank everyone for their support.

Two mothers in particular are now helping to lead the way in fundraising among the parent community: Stacy May Klein, K’85 and Leslie Lewiston Etterbeek, K’83.  Both Stacy and Leslie are alumnae of Kingswood. Their husbands, Ron Klein and Jeff Etterbeek, C’75, are also extremely supportive of the project. Having young daughters themselves, the Kleins and the Etterbeeks know that a new all-girls middle school campus will bring even more improvements to their daughters’ education. With full amenities in all academic fields, including science, athletics, and performing arts, this new facility will inspire middle school girls to new heights of achievement.

Says Stacy: “This project is a gift to all the girls that will be fortunate enough to attend, to Cranbrook and to the greater community. The next generation of young women can only benefit from what will truly be A Place for Girls.”

In collaboration with the Schools’ Advancement Department, the Klein’s and the Etterbeek’s have worked tirelessly to educate fellow parents about the new Kingswood Girls’ Middle School, which pending successful fundraising, will open as early as fall 2010. They have hosted a reception, presented at Mother’s Council meetings and Brookside coffees, and spoken to many parents throughout the School year. Their excitement is clear, and they are committed to seeing this new school open as soon as possible. 

They have been joined by other parents, including Lisa and Brian Meer, who hosted a reception in November and are staunch supporters of the project.

Leslie, remembering her time at Kingswood and having married a Cranbrook alum, says: “Jeff and I believe Cranbrook to be one of Michigan's best assets. It cultivates talents of young people and creates the next generation of leaders. The addition of a new Kingswood Girls' Middle School will help Cranbrook Schools maintain its status as one of the premier independent schools in the United States.”

Cranbrook Schools thanks the Kleins, the Etterbeeks and the Meers for their enthusiasm and generosity and hopes that other parents will continue to join them in supporting projects like the Kingswood Girls’ Middle School. This deep sense of commitment to our community is one of the things that makes Cranbrook Schools such a special place.

For more information on the Cranbrook Kingswood Middle School for Girls – Kingswood, visit http://schools.cranbrook.edu/kingswoodproject