The Campaign for Bement

The Campaign for Bement came to an end with the dedication of both the Kittredge Upper School Building and the Clagett McLennan Library.

 

Historical Overview

 

By Susan Clopton, Former Board President, P'03

Bement embarked on a strategic planning process as far back as 1994. This process began to identify the wants and needs of families educating their elementary school children. At that time many physical plant and campus issues were identified as pressing. Shortly thereafter, with a new head of school in place, Shelley Jackson graced us with the added benefit of her observations, impressions, and vision for Bement. All of this activity culminated in the development of a campus master plan for Bement.

Our plan laid a foundation for the future. Bement's first K-9 library became the centerpiece of a plan of modest but needed improvements that would make our future as bright as our past. We needed to tackle the plan in two phases. Phase I was the building of the new upper school facility in order to alleviate the overcrowding issues in the Polk Building, and Phase II was the renovation of the Polk building as a K-9 library.

The two phases of this campaign will positively affect every student, faculty, and staff member at Bement. The library will foster even more of what Bement does best: encouraging individual pursuit of knowledge while personalizing the setting and the materials with which children learn. As the heart of the school, it provides a practical and symbolic union of the upper and lower school. Its collections will be directly aligned with Bement's curriculum, and the students will benefit from research opportunities not previously available. The much needed upper school building solved critical problems faced each day by the Polk Building designed for a dramatically smaller population. The new building, coupled with a new use for the Polk Building, offers us many opportunities for an even closer community and for a Bement education aimed at the new millennium.

These plans were a major step for Bement and we were ready for a major step because we are a strong, capable, and caring community that knows what it means to provide for the future.  

Please contact Claudia Pazmany, Director of Alumni/ae & Development, if you have any questions regarding the Campaign for Bement at (413) 774-7061, or email at cpazmany@bement.org.