One can always learn something new. That philosophy provided the motivation for Village Shalom’s recent foray into continuing education: Village Shalom University.

Armed with September back-to-school spirit, Village Shalom launched an intensive, week-long offering of courses, transforming the continuing-care retirement community campus into a place more closely resembling a college setting. “Professors” were recruited from among the staff, the community, volunteers, family members, and the residents themselves. Instructors were invited to develop their own courses based on personal knowledge, interests and experience. The resulting range of topics appealed to a broad spectrum of students that included residents, family members and staff.

All told, Village Shalom University’s course catalog contained more than 40 courses taught by as many instructors. More than 100 students enrolled – many for multiple classes throughout the week – and “walk-ins” were not uncommon, sometimes filling a classroom to capacity. Courses ranged from the academic (“American Jewry and the Holocaust,” “A History of European Art”) to self improvement (“Constructive Rest,” “Intro to the Internet”) to sessions aimed at more entertaining avocations (“Juggling for Relaxation,” “A Tour of Wine Country”). Comments like “wonderful,” “really interesting” and “very, very nice” punctuated conversations in the corridors as each class let out.

Author Joel Goldman explained the elements of plot and character development in his course, “Writing a Mystery Novel.”

As a place where multiple activities and programs for residents already are offered on a daily basis, what prompted the creation of “VSU”?

“It evolved as a direct response to our most recent resident satisfaction survey,” explained Jill Craft, Director of Assisted Living at Village Shalom. “Residents indicated they wanted more opportunities to grow as a person. But we realized that residents don’t typically have a way to plan ahead to attend an event unless it is something that happens on the same day, month after month."

“We also knew that residents don’t tend to venture outside of Village Shalom for these kinds of activities, even though opportunities are all around us at places like the Jewish Community Center, etc. And we knew that we have a lot of intelligent, resourceful people who have so much to share with others. It just seemed natural to offer scheduled classes here at Village Shalom that could provide a structured setting for people to teach and learn from each other.”

Learning at any age offers significant benefits beyond the basic acquisition of new information. For senior adults in particular, ongoing education can help defend against the onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, studies have shown. While Village Shalom offers learning and “brain fitness” opportunities as part of its regular resident programming, VSU was a chance to take that concept several steps farther.

“Personal growth for the residents was our primary goal,” suggested Eileen Miller, Director of Resident Services, who, along with Jill Craft and Director of Social Services Paula Carpenter, spearheaded the inception of Village Shalom University. “We also wanted to offer opportunities for residents to discover how much they can learn in just one session, with the hope that they will continue their learning in the classes and programs we offer throughout the year.”

“It was also a way for staff to find out more about residents’ interests, and vice versa. It gave staff and residents a chance to participate with each other as ‘classmates,’ developing bonds in a different way than they normally do,” Miller added.

Most of all, it was fun. A “senior skip day” and a graduation party helped to capture the social side of a shared learning environment.

“I can see this becoming an annual thing,” Craft surmised. “Everybody had such a good time being students again.”

Merla Temple, a resident who attended many of the courses focused on Jewish studies, summed up her VSU experience: “It’s been a real enlightenment for me. The handouts are very helpful, especially if you want to use them as a resource for additional study. There’s so much to grasp, but life should go on in this manner. We should never quit learning.”