Cleveland, Ohio

The Intergenerational Schools

Problem

Older and younger people rarely spend time together. Elders feel sidelined; youth feel unheard. Local knowledge slips away.

Solution

The Intergenerational Schools are a network of tuition-free K-8 public charter schools in Cleveland founded in 2000 by Catherine Whitehouse, Peter Whitehouse and Stephanie FallCreek; since a June 2024 merger of the Lakeshore campus into TIS-East it runs two campuses (TIS-East, 11327 Shaker Blvd; Near West, 3805 Terrett Ave) with about 205 and 211 students in 2023-24. Older adult volunteers called Learning Partners work one-on-one with students on reading and math, typically one hour a week, after a school-provided background check; the volunteer sign-up form, addresses and an annual report are public on igschools.org.

Patterns used: Intergenerational Wisdom Exchange

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