Atlanta Independent School District is aiming high with its archery program. Six AISD staff members participated in a certification program Friday, Aug. 5, to become Basic Archery Instructors.
Danny Yarbrough, an instructor with Outdoor Tomorrow Foundation, encourages schools to develop archery programs because it can improve a child’s attitude toward school, develop a sense of belonging and increase attendance rates.
“It gives kids who have never found something they like to do in school a chance to participate in school activities,” Yarbrough said. “It’s also a confidence builder for kids who have never had a teacher tell them they did a good job.”
Atlanta ISD offers the program for grades K-12 in conjunction with the National Archery in the Schools Program. It is offered during school and as part of the after-school BLAST program.
Serena Young, who works with the middle and high school program, said they are projecting as many as 70 students to be involved on those campuses.
“Archery is something that everybody can get involved with,” Young said. “It doesn’t matter if you play sports or have a disability or what kind of personality you have. It really doesn’t matter. We are competing for ourselves and to try to better ourselves.”
Yarbrough reiterated that any student can be involved regardless of physical limitations.
“Archery is the one sport that everybody in the school can participate in no matter what their challenges are,” Yarbrough said. “They can have physical challenges and still participate in archery. It’s for everybody.”
Christy Patterson, archery instructor for kindergarten through second grade, said her youngest son has benefitted from being involved in the sport because of the discipline and structure it provides.
“He loves it,” Patterson said. “It gives kids another extracurricular activity because there are kids who don’t want to do sports. Every kid can find something to be good at. You don’t have to be super athletic. I don’t feel like anybody has an advantage, so that opens the door for a lot of people. It’s something you have to work at to be good at, and if you want to put in the work, you have the ability to be really good.”
The archery program will be offered at all four Atlanta ISD campuses. All equipment will be provided. For more information, contact the individual campuses.
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