The Houston Zoo has an educational outreach with Crockett and other Houston-area schools. Several years ago, Crockett began our partnership with them and it has grown ever since! Mrs. Truesdale, Crockett teachers, and our students work with DeAndra Ramsey of the Houston Zoo to learn about animals, conservation, and how we can help protect animals in our daily lives. Each year, this partnership gets stronger and bigger! Below are some of the highlights of this partnership:
1. Live animals visit our school! DeAndra brings animal ambassadors to Crockett to educate students on survival, adaptations, habitat/habitat loss, and conservation. We have had an alligator (Bend), a screech owl (Catori), a macaw (Denver), a tenrec (Ninerec), a porcupine (Ernie), and so many more! Both the animals and DeAndra are a welcome sight on our campus.
2. Nick Larberg, director of Camp Zoofari (Houston Zoo's summer camps), has also been an active and vital part of our partnership. He extended the opportunity for Crockett students to apply for scholarships for Camp Zoofari. We are very grateful for this! These scholarships give students the chance to experience the zoo firsthand, see live animals close-up, learn about those animals, and most importantly learn how they can play a part in saving these animals.
3. Both Nick and DeAndra have been a part of our Family Nights too! They have come to our Reading Under the Stars event in the fall, as well as our Science Nights in the spring. Students and families in attendance have had the chance to touch and meet live animals and continue learning about conservation.
4. Joanne Baptista is another member of the Houston Zoo team. She came to our campus in January as part of a professional development opportunity for 3rd-5th grade science teachers. She shared hands-on, TEKS-related lessons and activities with our teachers that they could use with our Crockett students. She also brought a couple of animal ambassadors for our teachers too!
The Houston Zoo doesn't just partner with Crockett. They work with other Houston-area schools to educate students about animals and conservation. Below is an infographic that shows the impact Houston-area students have made in the lives of animals in connection with the Houston Zoo. Crockett 1st grade students played a part in several of these projects, and Crockett students are a part of the camp scholarship number as well!
Thank you to the Houston Zoo, DeAndra, Nick, and Joanne. We value you, your mission, and your dedication to our students...not just Crockett students, but to the entire Houston area. It is a partnership that Crockett is honored to have and is excited to see how this partnership grows!
