The Intergenerational Schools of Cleveland Selected as Winner of the Eisner Prize for Intergenerational Excellence
Cleveland, OH (PRWEB) October 13, 2014 -- This month, the Intergenerational Schools of Cleveland, Ohio will receive one of two Eisner Prizes for Intergenerational Excellence, as presented by The Eisner Foundation of Los Angeles, California. The Eisner Prize is a national award that recognizes an individual or a non-profit organization for efforts to unite multiple generations – especially seniors and youth – and bring about positive, lasting changes in their communities. The Prizes will be awarded at the Encore.org National Conference in Tempe, Arizona on October 29, 2014. The other recipient in 2014 is Bridge Meadows of Portland, Oregon. Both organizations will receive $100,000.
“It is our honor and privilege to present this year’s Eisner Prize for Intergenerational Excellence to the Intergenerational Schools,” said Michael Eisner. “The Prizes allow us to honor organizations that share our mission nationwide, with the hope that the good work being done can be replicated in Southern California. The Intergenerational Schools are doing a remarkable job of bringing together people of multiple generations for the betterment of all involved. We thank them for their efforts to make their community a better place to live, especially for vulnerable children and elders.”
The Eisner Foundation is honoring the Intergenerational Schools for “Lifetime Achievement in Intergenerational Advocacy.” Founded by Drs. Peter and Catherine Whitehouse 14 years ago, the Intergenerational Schools bring together youth and elders in one-of-a-kind learning environments that not only support academic excellence for the young students but also promote life skills for students as well as lifelong learning for elders with physical or cognitive limitations. The schools connect the entire community in a meaningful way. Elder mentors help in the classroom with academic skills and students visit local assisted living centers.
“The Eisner Prize will allow us to strengthen our intergenerational model through working more broadly globally and more deeply locally,” said Dr. Peter Whitehouse. “Newly emerging schools need expanded programming and our lead school will develop new intergenerative ways of creating impactful stories of multi age relationships and learning.”
“Learning is fun, and learning in a community that incorporates people of all ages, talents, interests and personalities is energizing and inspiring on a daily basis,” said Dr. Cathy Whitehouse. “Education is an area where we need to question the prevailing, age-based paradigm and instead use schools as a means to re-connect the generations to create a healthier, caring and more just future for us all.”
There are now three Intergenerational Schools: the original Intergenerational School, and newer schools, Near West and Lakeshore Intergenerational School. With 16 years of model development and success, dissemination activities from the Intergenerational Schools have broadened. National and international activities include collaborations with intergenerational programs in Washington D.C., New York, California and Minnesota, Japan, Spain, Canada and the United Kingdom. In the next year, The Intergenerativity Project (TIP) will be launched as the first venture of the newly formed not-for-profit Intergenerational Schools International™, whose purpose is to promote intergenerational learning locally and globally. The Intergenerativity Project will utilize storytelling across multiple platforms to convene a national conversation around education and innovation. Intergenerativity celebrates the blending of positive generative sources of cultural change. Visual art, theater, dance, music, video games, and storytelling projects will be constructed as a transmedia project.
“The Eisner Prize brings the subject of intergenerational programming, and its benefits, into a national conversation,” said Trent Stamp, Executive Director of The Eisner Foundation. “Highlighting programs across the country that bring seniors and youth together to enhance their communities is an important component of what The Eisner Foundation does. The Intergenerational Schools are true leaders in this field, and we’re proud to find a way to honor and celebrate their innovative commitments to children and seniors.”
About The Eisner Foundation
Founded in 1996 by Michael and Jane Eisner and their family, The Eisner Foundation exists to provide access and opportunity for children and the aging in Los Angeles County. The Foundation gives philanthropic support and counsel to exceptionally-run non-profit organizations working to create lasting, positive changes in the lives of at-risk and disadvantaged seniors and children in the Los Angeles community. By making grants of over $7 million annually, the goal of The Eisner Foundation is simply to help Los Angeles be a place that protects and nurtures the region's most vulnerable citizens. To learn more about The Eisner Foundation, please visit the organization’s website at http://www.eisnerfoundation.org, as well as https://www.facebook.com/EisnerFoundation, https://twitter.com/EisnerFound, http://www.youtube.com/user/TheEisnerFoundation, and http://www.linkedin.com/company/the-eisner-foundation.
About The Intergenerational Schools
For 14 years the Intergenerational Schools (TIS) have been a transformative model of lifelong learning positively impacting costs and outcomes associated with educating children and engaging older adults, including those with dementia. Based on its success and community interest, there are now three Intergenerational Schools operating in Cleveland, providing a free public education to over 500 young learners. The Intergenerational Schools feature an innovative kindergarten through 8th grade developmental curriculum that is proven to foster student achievement. Modeled on building relationships of reciprocal respect and learning, multi-age classrooms give every child the opportunity to serve as both teacher and learner. Classes have a range of ages (spanning 3-4 years) and abilities, creating a dynamic and individualized learning environment. Additionally, students learn with a lifespan perspective and benefit from daily interactions with a diverse group of adults and elders who participate fully in the school community as mentors, tutors, and co-learners. TIS actively partners with Judson Smart Living and Case Western Reserve University not only to deliver their programs, but also to document and study them for potential future replication. To learn more, please visit http://www.tisonline.org.
Contacts:
Eric McGarvey
Admissions & Community Relations Director
The Intergenerational Schools
EMcGarvey(at)tisonline(dot)org
216-721-0120
Trent Stamp, Executive Director
The Eisner Foundation
trent.stamp(at)eisnerfoundation(dot)org
310-228-6808
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Trent Stamp, The Eisner Foundation, http://www.eisnerfoundation.org, +1 3102286808, [email protected]
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