Lend a Hand to Sustain Community Education at UCI

As the community service corporation for Cleveland’s arts and culture district, University Circle Inc. (UCI) offers dynamic community education programs that foster a sense of belonging in University Circle for over 10,000 learners of all ages each year. Offered in collaboration with 20+ museums and cultural institutions throughout the University Circle neighborhood, UCI’s experiential learning programs take an interdisciplinary approach to the resources of these institutions. Your support will ensure that UCI’s Community Education programs thrive for the benefit of learners in the under-resourced neighborhoods of Cleveland and East Cleveland that surround the Circle.

As Cleveland’s center of culture, healing, and learning, University Circle holds a wealth of educational resources.  UCI's programs eliminate barriers to participation in the cultural life of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio, with learning opportunities that inspire curiosity and lifelong learning while supporting the academic needs of teachers and students.

These five unique education programs bring learning to life for over 10,000 preschool through senior adult learners annually:

The Early Learning Initiative (ELI) builds essential literacy skills and promotes school readiness for approximately 1,000 children and their teachers from 50 Northeast Ohio public schools and day care centers. Each month throughout the academic year, urban preschool students visit a University Circle institution for a hands-on learning experience, supported by instructional content delivered in classrooms through a monthly lesson.  Throughout the month, students have access to learning kits filled with books, puzzles, and music that supports the visit and classroom learning.  

Linking Education and Discovery (LEAD) provides thousands of K-8 scholars in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and the East Cleveland City Schools with experiential learning opportunities through visits to any of nine Circle museums, gardens, and performing arts institutions. Now in its 46th year, UCI underwrites admission costs, provides transportation to and from their school, and provides professional development for teachers to help them get the most out of these engaging experiences.

Future Connections, a college and career readiness program for teenagers, spans a full academic year and includes an intensive eight-week summer internship experience. Throughout the year, life skills workshops, which focus on resume writing, interviewing, financial literacy, and other essential skills, expand and reinforce the skills that students develop in their internships. Each year, the program engages up to 45 rising high school seniors from the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and other inner-ring suburbs with in-depth learning and job shadowing experiences, and partners with 30 organizations and 12 school districts.

University Circle Interactive Cleveland (UCIC) brings high-quality arts and humanities life-long learning programs through interactive video conferencing to over 8,000 older adults annually in Northeast Ohio’s retirement facilities and community senior centers. Videoconferencing enables seniors to "travel the world" using interactive technology in real-time, and incorporates field trips to cultural institutions for concerts, lectures, and exhibitions. In addition, UCIC engages seniors and students in neighborhoods adjacent to the Circle, including Harvard Lee, Hough, and Buckeye-Shaker, in intergenerational learning experiences.

Circle Scholars, UCI’s newest education program, provides students with enriching programming after school to keep them in a safe environment during otherwise high-risk hours. Each year, 20 seventh and eighth grade students at Mary M. Bethune School visit museums and community sites to participate in a 12-week, skills-based interdisciplinary exploration of community, sustainability, and stewardship.

Your support helps UCI provide access for all to high quality learning experiences in the Circle’s world-class cultural institutions and fosters a love of learning that will last a lifetime.

From Left to Right: Greg Deegan, (Director of Community Education) Diane Hansson, (Early Childhood Program Manager) Erin Gill (Future Connections Program Manager) Sandy Kreisman (Distance Learning Manager) 

Bottom: Arin Miller-Tait (Development Manager for Community Programs) Debi Abela (Early Childhood Program Associate)