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Kalison Studios Education Partners with Independent Artist Entertainment to Launch IAE Academy

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Kalison Studios Education (KSE) announced today a partnership with entertainment company Independent Artist Entertainment (IAE) and ICL Academy, an affiliate of New York independent school Dwight School to create IAE Academy, an online educational academy for working youth performers. The program, which kicks off this fall, provides career support alongside an online academic curriculum serving students in grades seven through 12.

Modeled after WME’s IMG Academy in Florida, a training ground for Olympic-level and pre-professional athletes, IAE students will benefit from a flexible academic studies allowing them to pursue entertainment jobs and train at their local studio while enrolled at school. IAE will look to the Academy as a pipeline for up-and-coming talent which the talent company can help develop and break into the industry.

“Our goal is to create a community that aligns emerging talent during their formative years with the industry that will eventually employ them,” says Glenn Kalison, co-founder of IAE Academy and CEO of KSE, which will operate and manage the Academy.

The creation of IAE Academy comes amidst the coronavirus crisis, which has forced schools globally, including colleges and universities, to resort to remote-learning techniques.

“We have put together a forward-looking model that provides students and families with needed flexibility to audition, train and work in the field while leveraging existing local resources, technology, and best-in-class partners covering both academics and career guidance,” Kalison continues. “During this time of uncertainty, we are seeing a pivotal moment for online education, and IAE Academy brings an innovative, high quality, differentiated approach tailored for emerging artists.”

ICL Academy will provide all the required foundation courses for IAE Academy, including English, mathematics, science, social studies and language arts, as well as electives such as entrepreneurship, financial literacy and performance psychology. Faculty teachers are vetted for a minimum of five years of teaching experience and, in most cases, master’s degrees.

“The curriculum is being developed with inspiring and creative teachers to shape academic courses according to student passion in order to deliver personalized and real-world applications of what they are learning,” says Kirk Spahn, founder of ICL Academy. “ICL Academy takes students through foundation to application and finally to mastery to prepare them to reach their full potential in university and in life.”

IAE was founded in 2019 by Shelli Margheritis, JC Gutierrez and Jenn Proctor, long-time talent agents turned managers who met during their tenure at the dancer/choreographer-focused boutique agency, McDonald / Selznick Associates. IAE manages such talents as actor Nico Greetham, who just wrapped the Netflix feature directed by Ryan Murphy, “The Prom,” starring Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman and Kerry Washington. Greetham was a series regular on Nickelodeon’s “Power Rangers Ninja Steel.”

Kalison Studios Education builds, operates and manages educational programs for the media and entertainment industry. Glenn Kalison, founder of KSE, brings two decades of experience innovating in education and a proven track record of success in the media and entertainment industry. He is the founder of Studio School in Los Angeles.

All prospective students can now apply for fall 2020 admission to IAE Academy at the IAEacademy.com website. Independent students that are not affiliated with a local training facility may also apply directly to IAE Academy.

Studios interested in becoming an authorized training site can enroll by visiting the IAEacademy website.

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