April 18 was the day before spring break at Shawnee School in Henry County, and the little school’s hallways were electric with excitement.
As a special treat to start their vacation, first- through fourth-graders were going to see an archery demonstration by pupils in grades four through eight.
The younger children’s excited voices reached the auditorium long before they pushed through its gray steel doors and filled the bleachers like a bubbling freshet. Their chatter quickly died, however, when upper classmates took positions before bull’s-eye targets.
The hush grew deeper as the shooters fitted arrows to the strings of compound bows and filled the air with the brief hisses and sharp whacks of target arrows driving home. When all the arrows were spent, the younger children broke out in wild cheers and applause. Archers’ backs grew visibly straighter, their shoulders squarer as they accepted the adulation.
Shawnee School was the first in Missouri to receive a cash grant from Missouri’s National Archery in the Schools Program, marking the latest milestone in a movement that is sweeping the nation.
Other Missouri schools approved for MoNASP grants include Aurora Junior High School, North Wood in Salem, Holden Middle School in St. Joseph, North Andrew in Rosendale, Pleasant Hope Middle School, Pleasant Hope High School, Dent-Phelps in Salem, Sappington Elementary in St. Louis and Plato.
The program began in Kentucky as a collaboration between state education and conservation agencies and Mathews, Inc., an archery manufacturer headquartered in Sparta, Wisc. Together, they created what eventually would become the National Archery in the Schools Program. It was designed to infuse the educational process with excitement and introduce students to a healthful outdoor activity.
Judging by the program’s growth, they succeeded. The Kentucky departments of Education and Fish and Wildlife Resources introduced the program into 100 middle schools’ physical education curricula in 2002.
Since then it has expanded to 5,000 schools and more than 3 million pupils nationwide. Canada, Australia and South Africa are involved, too. Program promoters say Europe is next.
Several things account for this success, according to MoNASP coordinator Kevin Lohraff.
“The beauty of archery is that anyone can do it,” said Lohraff. “Everyone can improve their skill at it and excel. You don’t have to be big. You don’t have to be fast. You don’t have to be strong or athletic to succeed. It’s an equalizer sport that gives everyone a chance to be successful.”
He said archery even lends itself to participation by students with disabilities. Mobility and hearing impairments are not serious obstacles. Even visually impaired shooters can succeed at archery when working with sighted partners.
Furthermore, archery is an excellent fit with results-oriented, accountable education. MoNASP curriculum incorporates archery into educational standards for mathematics, history and language arts.
Perhaps most important is the overall effect NASP has had on participants. Lohraff said studies showed that participating schools have fewer behavior problems, because pupils do not want to lose the privilege of participating in archery. NASP schools report improved grades in core curriculum areas and increased attendance as a result of pupils’ enthusiasm for the program.
Lohraff said every NASP school has stories about how the program has changed participants’ lives.
“It helps kids who are struggling with academics find something fun to keep them in school. Letting an arrow loose and seeing it hit the bull’s-eye does something to you. It gives you a sense of achievement that is much more difficult to get with most other sports. It makes you want to come back for more.”
Sponsors have created a grant program to make sure MoNASP is within the financial means of any school district. Shawnee School, which has only 51 students, is an excellent example. Physical Education Teacher and
School Counselor Luann Weeks got a $500 grant from the Warrensburg Wal-Mart and several hundred dollars in cash contributions from other area businesses, sporting groups and individuals. R-III School Board President John Dameron even chipped in to make it happen. Weeks combined this with a NASP grant- the first in Missouri - to acquire the necessary equipment.
Statewide MoNASP sponsors are the Conservation Department and the Conservation Federation of Missouri. The National Wild Turkey Federation
and the National Rifle Association have helped local schools buy NASP equipment, and Bass Pro Shops soon will give grants to schools for archery equipment as well.
So far, 35 Missouri schools participate in NASP. For information about the program and MoNASP grants, contact Lohraff at P.O. Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102, phone 573-522-4115, ext. 3294, e-mail Kevin.Lohraff@mdc.mo.gov. Information about NASP is available at nasparchery.com/.