Students from the R.I.S.E. Academy were featured in the Trinity Journal after taking Archery lessons from Stefan Lacey! See the entire article below or in the photo. Thank you Stefan Lacey for this opportunity and thank you to the Trinity Journal staff for highlighting this great achievement!

From the Trinity Journal:

RISE Academy students sight in a new sport

After a year being closed, Trinity County’s only community day school is back in action with a focus on getting middle and high school students into learning environments outside the classroom. One of this week’s educational opportunities took kids from their Weaverville home base to Douglas City where they were introduced to the sport of archery by national recognized archer and coach Stefan Lacey. With research supporting the benefits of outdoor education, especially for students who struggle to learn in the traditional classroom, RISE teacher Dr. Jason Palmer is taking advantage of the support he’s getting from Trinity County Office of Education to get these kids outside.

“While they’re learning, we’re making community connections,” he said about his effort to help kids reintegrate into society, from which their learning styles or past troubles may have made them feel disenfranchised.

“Out here,” Dr. Palmer explains, “kids are self-actualized and respectful. They’re teachable.”

Through the lens of a range finder, for example, student Logan Scott learned state educational standards without realizing he was in math class. His classmate practiced mind-body awareness when coordinating her upper and lower body and controlling her breathing before releasing each arrow.

“RISE Academy is a school for students who cannot be contained or best served within four walls,” Dr. Palmer says. Archery is one of those experiences that allows students who think and act differently to acquire skills necessary to function as contributive citizens without forcing them into a box in which they cannot thrive, he explains.

Some students at RISE have had behavioral issues because, instead of meeting them with teaching styles to fit their learning styles, kids’ past classroom experiences tend to have been negative in standard education settings that force kids to think and act certain ways instead of celebrating youngsters who think outside the box.

Additionally, some RISE students need alternative educational settings because of issues relating to early childhood experiences that were traumatic. Outdoor activities, especially those wherein multiple skills are used in settings rich with trees and sounds of nature, are calming to such students, inspire attentiveness and cooperation, and naturally lower students’ affective filters so they are (without realizing it) more teachable.

This is the premise for the alternative education setting that is RISE Academy, so their teacher hopes to continue archery practice and other skill-building activities, throughout the year.

Beck, T. (2024) ‘RISE Academy students sight in a new sport’, Trinity Journal, 2 October, pp. 5.