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Posted 9-26-00
CLEVELAND -- Case Western Reserve University faculty member Peter Whitehouse has helped to launch a new charter school this fall at the Fairhill Center for Aging. Called the Intergenerational School, it opened August 30, serving 31 students from kindergarten through second grade.
With its intergenerational and community focus, the school seeks to not only help prepare its students to be life-long learners and good community citizens, but also to assess and address the learning interests of the students' adult family members.
Since it is located on the Fairhill Center's 10-acre, eight-building campus, students will be able to interact with participants of the center's programs for senior citizens. For example, plans are being developed to have the students share lunch and activities with residents of the nearby Kethley House nursing home, Whitehouse said.
The Intergenerational School has a two-part educational philosophy, as described on its Web site, http://www.intergenschool.org. "Learning is a life-long process," the philosophy states, and "knowledge is socially constructed in the context of culture, experience, and community."
Programs will focus on helping students develop into "effective and empowered stewards of their community," the school's Web site states in describing its mission. "Our graduates will understand and value the interdependency and diversity of the world, make sound and principled decisions, and will communicate and advocate effectively for the community good."
By adopting a community focus, the school will emphasize demonstrating personal integrity, making personal choices and being accountable for them, celebrating diversity (including ages), developing interpersonal skills, and exhibiting shared and responsible use of resources.
The school's two classrooms are not based on the traditional age groupings. Instead, individual assessments help determine the placement. "It's a process of assessing where each child is," Whitehouse said.
The school's curriculum will interweave literacy, artistic studies, technology, environmental sciences and responsibility, and wellness and health.
Several CWRU programs have been involved in the school's planning and activities. Among them are the JASON Project (which is part of a national effort involving hands-on science education), the Center for the Environment, the Center for Science and Mathematics Education, and the University Center for Innovation in Teaching and Education (UCITE).
Whitehouse is chair of the school's board. He is professor of neurology in the School of Medicine and director of the department's Integrative Studies Program.
His wife Cathy, who he met at Johns Hopkins University while both were pursuing their Ph.D. degrees in psychology, is principal teacher. Cathy Whitehouse formerly was on the pediatrics department faculty at CWRU's School of Medicine.
Fellow co-founder Stephanie FallCreek, who received a doctor of social work degree from the University of California at Berkeley, serves as executive director of the Fairhill Center.
Leaders behind the Intergenerational School are working to identify the learning interests of the students' parents and other adult family members, as well as other adults in the community who are interested in life-long learning.
"The challenge of a community school that talks about real-life learning is figuring out what adult students in the community want, in terms of their life and learning," Whitehouse said.
The school's three-year plan is to expand to serve 90 students from kindergarten through fourth grade. Next year's enrollment will probably encompass kindergartners through third graders. Residents of Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, and University Heights are eligible to enroll their children at the school.
The Intergenerational School has received support from a Cleveland Foundation Grant, St. Ann's Foundation Grant, federal grants distributed through the state to support charter schools, per-pupil funding from the state, and private donations. Since it is a public school, there are no tuition charges.
Contact Whitehouse by e-mail at pgw3 with questions on the school, or to explore how campus programs or personnel might be able to get involved in the school's activities.