National Program History: The overall NASPĀ® program began in Kentucky in 2002 with the training of 39 educators and 22 middle school pilot projects. Shortly afterwards many state agencies joined the program and NASPĀ® was granted a 501 c(3) non-profit education foundation status. As the program has progressed, in a single school year, more than 2.34 million students participate nationwide. Since it's initial inception, 50 states, 9 provinces and 11 countries have participated in the program and is continuing to grow.
Department of Natural Resources Objective: Declining participation in hunting and the shooting sports threatens financial and public support for wildlife conservation. We expect many of these young people to make Archery a lifelong sport. Nationally, up to 81% of the participants reported buying their own archery equipment.
NASPĀ® in Iowa: The National Archery in the Schools Program in Iowa is coordinated through the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. There are over 230 Iowa schools participating in the in-school program annually and the program continues to grow. The Iowa DNR provides NASPĀ® Basic Archery Instructor (BAI) training throughout the state to teachers and archery program organizers. BAI training is provided at no cost to teachers conducting NASPĀ® programs as part of a 2 week in-school course. Volunteers wishing to attend the training can do so for a fee of $80.00. Iowa also offers an afterschool league program to schools who are also engaged in the in-school 2 week program. For more information on the afterschool league program visit our how to get started section.
Department of Education Objective: Engage more students in the educational process to improve classroom performance and reduce dropout rates. The national school dropout rate is 7%. Most students (88%) who drop out of school indicate they were not involved in extra-curricular activities. Archery taught by the NASPĀ® is accessible to all students of nearly all age groups. Educators are reporting that the NASPĀ® "engages the unengaged" and inspires students to greater achievement in school. In the 2019-2020 school year Iowa had 1,485 archers nominated for Academic Archers. An Academic Archer is a student who achieves their school's Honor Roll. Every Academic Archer is eligible for scholarships and prizes from NASP.
Check out the NASP Annual Review to see what youth are saying about this program.
