Staff Spotlight: Deanna Kruger’s world is a big place, and Stockbridge is her center

by Amy Haggerty

When you first enter Heritage School, you are greeted by Deanna Kruger sitting at the front desk. She remains busy all the time answering phones, talking to students and staff, and buzzing in visitors. Kruger has become an important fixture within the district and the community. She is known for spearheading the community Thanksgiving dinner and the light-pole decorating contest downtown that has raised over $6,000 for community groups.

Kruger has worked for Stockbridge Community Schools for 23 years. Although she was born in France, her parents, Bob and Sharon Cole, decided to move back closer to where Bob grew up, so Kruger grew up in the Gregory area.

Her long-time love, Chris Kruger, unfortunately lost his battle to cancer this past fall. They had an amazing 34-year marriage and raised four children who are now all adults. The oldest son, Jay, is 32 and married to Whitney; they have a daughter Harper. Bailey, the oldest daughter, is 25, and she has a daughter Sophia. Karley is 22 and attends MSU. Macy, the youngest daughter, is a freshman at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan.

Kruger attended Stockbridge High School and took a lot of English classes. “I love to write,” she states. After high school she attended Washtenaw Community College and Cleary College. She has a bachelor’s degree in business. She noted that she started college after she was married and had Jay, and she adds, “I worked full time for several of my college years.”

Kruger has always had mounds of energy; this becomes evident when you see her in action at work. She greets everyone with a smile and knowns most everyone that enters through the doors of the school.

She credits many of the staff and students she works with as her greatest influence in life.

“Students teach me things every day. I adore our custodians, secretaries, bus drivers. The teachers and paras have a really difficult job, and I hope I am helpful to them. Each has taught me what to do and not to do.”

Kruger had a strong desire to work in the community so she could be closer to home and be more involved in the schools. Back when she only had Jay at home, she became the PTO president.

The Krugers decided to fly to Russia and adopt two little girls who were biological sisters. It took seven months of paperwork and making regular trips to Lansing, before they could bring the girls home. They spent 10 days in southeastern Russia near the North Korean border. Kruger noted the area was very poor and not a great part of the country. Kruger considers this her greatest accomplishment in life.

Some of the important things Kruger keeps in mind while working is, “You never know what a child is going through, whether at school or in their personal life. I always like to find a good quality in each of them.” Kruger has received notes from students she has helped through the years. She discovered that her philosophy meant the world to certain children. She said, “I cherish the notes.”

Some advice she would like to give to the students in the area: “School is such a short amount of time in your life. Do your best, don‘t embarrass your family, and know that there is a really huge world…Stockbridge is such a great place to live, but see the whole world before you settle down! If you want to go to college, you can work your way through, and you don’t have to go into a ton of debt.”

Kruger speaks very highly of the Stockbridge Community area, including Gregory and Munith, as she has matured and discovered how important this community is to her. She found this out when she recently lost her husband to cancer. “The community wrapped their arms around our family to help us get through this terrible time. I will never be able to thank all of you enough!”

What she likes most of all about working in Stockbridge Schools is the students. “I love the students and their families. Having a great staff around me makes coming to work fun.” Kruger mentioned she loves to laugh at work, and when she does, it’s a good day!

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