Bob Archer, Principal of Wooddale High School

He is also the Principal Investigator for the NASA Aviation Academy 2000 Grant.

Mr. Archer is a life-long Memphian and career educator with the Memphis City School System. Following graduation from Whitehaven High School and Memphis State University, Mr. Archer served three years as an aircraft maintenance officer with the U.S. Air Force. Returning to Memphis, he was assigned as a social studies teacher at Corry Junior High School.

Following his tenure as teacher, administrative aide, and assistant principal at Corry, Mr. Archer has served as assistant principal at Ridgeway High School, Overton High School, and as principal of Snowden School and Kingsbury High School.

In 1995, Mr. Archer was assigned as principal of Wooddale High School. Wooddale High School is a College Prepratory and Aviation/Travel Optional School. Wooddale is strategically located in the Southeast section of Memphis, approximately 3 miles from the Memphis International Airport and many distribution and manufacturing centers.

Since1995, under his leadership, the Aviation Academy 2000 grant developed into a new Aviation/Travel and Tourism program at Wooddale which empowered teachers to redesign curriculum to meet aviation industry standards and enabled students to become better prepared for post-secondary academics as well as to develop lifelong learning skills. Another provision which he added was to encourage parents to collaborate with teachers and administrators to design a better school learning environment. Finally, the grant enabled Wooddale to assemble a group of aviation technology and travel industry experts to form an Aviation Advisory Council which helps to direct curriculum development and to spawn growth for the Avaition/Travel Program.

Mr. Archer is a past president of the Memphis Public Schools Principals' Association and during the summer of 1996, Mr. Archer was selected by the superintendent to attend the Principals' Center at Harvard University. 

Mr. Archer is married to the former Ruth Wallace, a science specialist at Oak Forest Elementary School, and he has two children, both are graduates of the Memphis City School System.

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