‘Pets in Classroom’ Program Exceeds Expectations

What started as a plan to provide a handful of students with access to animals has quickly exploded into a phenomenon. The Pet Care Trust’s Pets in the Classroom Program started in 2010 with the humble goal of receiving 700 grant requests, but ended the year awarding over 2,000.

“We felt that if we could help expose kids to pets and to the proper care and keeping of pets early on, they’ll be successful at it and much more likely to be pet owners when they are older,” said Pet Care Trust Executive Director Steve King. “So this program is really an attempt to foster that and to support classroom teachers who wish to have pets in their classroom as a way to enhance the teaching experience.”

The program awarded 2,060 grants to teachers in 2010, its first full year of operation. With an average of 30 students per classroom, the program has brought pets into the lives of almost 62,000 children. Some of these children may not have had contact with a pet other than in their classroom.

Pets in the Classroom is an educational grants program supporting responsible pet care for school classrooms. Sponsored by the Pet Care Trust, the goal of the program is to establish healthy child-pet relationships at an early age by supporting responsible pet care in kindergarten through sixth-grade classrooms in the U.S. and Canada. 

“We tried to make it as easy as possible, knowing how starved for time teachers can be,” King said in reference to the grant application process. Teachers can fill out the application online at petcaretrust.org. Once the grant is approved, a certificate and equipment checklist is sent to the teacher.

The program allows teachers to select pets that are most appropriate for their classrooms. There have been a variety of funding requests, from snakes and lizards to guinea pigs and rabbits.

As of December 2010, grants totaled nearly $264,000 and funded the following classroom pet requests: 761 aquariums, 435 reptiles, 737 small animals and 93 birds. An additional 40 sustaining grants helped teachers who already have a classroom pet purchase food and supplies. 

The program hopes to fund an additional 2,000 classroom grants in 2011. As it expands to reach more elementary-school classrooms across the country, the program will rely on direct financial support from the pet industry and individual donors.

Related resource

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Article by Jason Tomaszewski, EducationWorld Associate Editor
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