Nick Simpson will spend his last year of high school kayaking all over the world while receiving  his education at New River Academy, a college preparatory school based in Fayetteville.

Simpson, who attended Woodrow Wilson High School until this fall, is the first West Virginia student to be enrolled in this unique school.

School director Matt Smink said NRA is an accredited high school that offers the same curriculum as public schools, plus honors, applied and elective courses. Instead of the traditional classroom model, he said, students learn out-of-doors as they kayak, “integrating character-building, team-building, learning world culture and leadership skills into the program.”

Smink added the school season begins with the students in Canada. They return to the area for whitewater and Gauley season in West Virginia, and then go to several world locations. This year they will head to Chile and to Uganda to paddle the White Nile.

Nick’s mother, Anne Simpson, said “his father was a whitewater rafting guide, and we have always been a rafting family. His first experience with kayaking was through the New River Academy’s summer camp and he has been addicted to it ever since.”

She said they chose to send their son to NRA because he only needed two classes to graduate at Woodrow Wilson, and they wanted him to be able to have a full schedule with physics, calculus and fourth-year Spanish.

“We did extensive research before we made our decision. We talked to other students and parents. I just imagine that, after studying physics in the morning, Nick can paddle down the river with his teacher and talk about academics during the day.

“I have high expectations for the school, and I believe that traveling the world will help him mature and grow and that the classes will prepare him for college.”

Addressing the school’s pedagogy, David Hughes, founder and executive director, said, “Our educational model is one of positive reinforcement. Individualized attention and instruction, with the student ratio being 3-to-1, allows our teachers to work with each student’s learning style and needs.

“Kayaking, travel and cultural exploration are the mutual passion of all our students and staff. The life experience replaces a society of cyberspace. The day-to-day lifestyle is active, rewarding, and offers real-life experiences.”

Hughes, currently in Canada with Nick Simpson and 13 other students enrolled in the school, said he can already tell Nick is going to be a natural leader. “His character caused us to take notice and offer him an academic ambassador scholarship.” As a part of that scholarship, “Nick will be expected to be a role model, create additional video media projects for the school website, be a leader on the river and give presentations to other students.”

Anne Simpson said Nick hopes to attend college at Appalachian State or WVU and major in business or entrepreneurship.

“He would love to go into a whitewater or kayaking business. I know that over the next year, at New River Academy, he will mature and be better prepared to make future life decisions.”

— E-mail: splummer@register-herald.com