Cincinnati Zoo Makes Strides in Serving the Community

Posted May 29, 2015

Zoo’s Living Classroom Education Access Fund Has Sent 37,000 Cincinnati area kids to the Zoo for FREE since 2012

CINCINNATI, OH (May 29, 2015) –The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden (CZBG) is celebrating three years since the inception of the Living Classroom Education Access Fund (LCEAF) program and its continued success in affording every student the opportunity to be inspired by wildlife every day.

The LCEAF program was founded in November 2012 with the goal of financially supporting the ability of all schools in the Greater Cincinnati area to access the Zoo and its nationally recognized programs.  By providing teachers with programs that meet educational standards and promising to cover the cost of admission for schools in need, the Cincinnati Zoo and LCEAF are working to ensure every Tri-State area child has the opportunity to experience the excitement of learning from the Zoo.

Initially, the LCEAF set an objective of increasing the number of school children and teachers benefiting from the Zoo by 5% annually.  The Cincinnati Zoo is proud to announce that after three years, the LCEAF has exceeded the most hopeful projections with an annual growth in school programs by more than 7%.  Beyond boosting school attendance, LCEAF has directly increased participation of under-represented schools and districts by providing full admission to nearly 37,000 students in need of assistance. Since 2012, the Zoo has hosted more than 166,000 school participants. LCEAF supported students from 141 different schools accounted for 22% of those participants.

“Thank you so much for giving our students the opportunity to experience the Zoo! The students were mesmerized by the animals. To see this in person, rather than reading it from a book was phenomenal. We were able to make real life connections with the animals that we have been studying and reading. Without this grant, our students would not have been able to go on this outstanding field trip!” said Tonya Beighle with Crittenden Mount Zion Elementary after visiting through the LCEAF program.

The Cincinnati Zoo’s nationally-recognized school programs continue to draw in students and their educators with authentic, inquiry-based experiences that support classroom curriculum. Now with the help of the LCEAF program, the Zoo is able to support more school participants than ever before and give students the opportunity to learn from the Zoo’s amazing animals regardless of financial need.