TIS began in 1998 as the brainchild of its three founders: Catherine C. Whitehouse, PhD, educator and developmental psychologist; Peter J. Whitehouse, MD, PhD, a gerontologist and neurologist from Case Western Reserve University; and Stephanie FallCreek, DSW, President of Fairhill Partners. In 2000-2001 the school opened its doors to 30 students in grades K through 2, and a new approach to public education was successfully born. In 2005, the board of directors hired the school’s first executive director to provide leadership for the growth of the school, develop the operations and external partnerships, and to work collaboratively with Catherine Whitehouse, Founder and Principal-Chief Educator, on mission and vision activities. This allowed Dr. Whitehouse to focus on educational matters and to spend more time in the classroom with teachers and students.
Over the last ten years, the school grew from a staff of 3, occupying two rooms in a townhouse on Fairhill’s campus; to what is now over 20,000 square feet in the main building and 29 full-time employees. This fall, The Intergenerational School will serve 224 K-8 students, and over 250 lifelong learners.
TIS is housed at Fairhill Partners, a nonprofit collaborative campus dedicated to successful aging, located in the Buckeye-Larchmere neighborhood. TIS provides a private education, at a public school price—free. The student body is historically 95% or more African American or Multiracial, and approximately 70% qualify for free or reduced-cost lunch.
Most (about 80%) of the students reside in Cleveland proper, with others coming from East Cleveland or inner-ring suburbs. TIS is not able to provide transportation, so parents who make the conscientious choice to enroll their children in TIS transport them to and from school on their own. Despite this challenge, attendance rates have remained high at 95% or above and consistently exceed the state standard.