NASP® Academic Archer not only recognizes success on the archery range, but honors excellence in the classroom. In its second year, NASP® Academic Archer enrollment reaches an all time high of 19,381 as enrollment ended at midnight on April 30th.
In November of 2015, National NASP® leadership and a group of NASP® educators and students met to discuss ways to further enhance the program. One recommendation was to establish a uniform incentive and recognition format to recognize and promote academic achievement for participating NASP® students. The concept of a NASP® Academic Archer was born.
In its first year of implementation, Academic Archer finished with 8,517 students enrolled. Educators from 38 US states and two Canadian Provinces implemented the NASP® Academic Archer Program with their students. Easton Technical Products became the Title sponsor of the program and recently demonstrated their full commitment to recognizing academic excellence in their decision to recognize the top Academic Archers at the upcoming NASP® National tournament. See: http://naspschools.org/news/news.php?id=1451
Now in its second year, the academic recognition program has far exceeded expectations for enrollment in states and jurisdictions across the globe as this year, Academic Archer included students from 45 states, provinces and countries.
Georgia NASP® Coordinator Jennifer Pittman said, “The NASP® Academic Archer program has been a huge success in Georgia. We are now able to recognize students that participate in archery during the school day who are also excelling in academics. This pairing of archery and schoolwork is a win-win for the students and the school. I am excited that we are now able to honor these students who put the effort into their schoolwork as well as archery. I congratulate all of our Academic Archers in Georgia for their hard work and dedication.”
Indiana NASP® Coordinator and NASP® board member Tim Beck said, “Since the inception of NASP® in Indiana, the focus has always been on the students. With the addition of the Academic Archer Program we now are coming full circle, as we recognize these students for their classroom accomplishments as well as their archery skills. NASP® is truly changing lives, one arrow at a time.”
Dr. Tommy Floyd, NASP® Vice President and General Manager said, “It is our hope that every NASP® jurisdiction will enroll students in the program. We’d like to see the Academic Archer numbers top 50,000+ students someday. Continued success in the classroom will allow students to have expanded options in their chosen life path. It is our intent to continue to send the strongest of messages about how important the emphasis on learning and success in the classroom really is.”
NASP® President Roy Grimes said, “Our partner, Easton Technical Products has obviously proven their belief in recognizing and motivating students to do well in school! We believe that the more we emphasize in-school archery as an extension of the classroom, the more that educators can use programs like Academic Archer as a motivational tool, and the greater likelihood that NASP® will be around to motivate future generations of young students!”
For more information on beginning the Academic Archer in your school:
Contact Dr. Tommy Floyd at: tommy.floyd@naspschools.org