Is it permissible to pay Zakat to an elementary school for children that is in need of financial support?

It is not permissible to disburse Zakat (definition) to a school unless its students are poor or fall within the eight categories of Zakat beneficiaries mentioned in the Quran: the poor, the needy, those employed to collect [Zakat], those whose hearts are to be reconciled, [to free] those in bondage, those in debt, in the cause of Allah, and the wayfarer. Some people have broadened the interpretation of "in the cause of Allah" to include Hajj, but its original meaning is for Jihad. There are other avenues for supporting the school, such as Sadaqa (charity), grants, and endowments.