FORT BENNING, Ga., (Oct. 29, 2014) -- Mount Olive Elementary school third-grader Monet McBean wasn't the tallest student in her class, but she wasn't afraid to be the first to get her harness on so she could jump out of the 34-foot Airborne tower at Fort Benning on Oct. 23.
"It was a lot of fun and I want to do it again," Monet said after making her jump and sliding down the zip line with her eyes closed as her classmates waited for their turn to jump.
Fellow third-grader Keyo Vauntae said he wasn't scared either and that he wants to be in the Army just like his father.
"I found out about this as soon as I got my report card and I got all As," Keyo said after his jump."
Monet and Keyo were among the 68 out of 106 Mount Olive third-graders who earned the privilege of coming out to Fort Benning to jump out of the tower by having all As and Bs on their report cards for the first nine weeks of school, said Mount Olive third-grade teacher Tonya Turner.
"It's great for us as teachers to see them meet their goals," Turner said as she gathered all of the students who had completed their jumps to watch their classmates jump as well.
Students have the opportunity to make four more jumps and earn their wings like U.S. Army Airborne School students do after making their fifth jump, she said, explaining that three of those jumps can be earned through academic success, but the fourth jump is earned through other special recognition such as a citizenship award.
"This is the first year third-graders have been able to jump," she said. "In the past it's been just for fourth, fifth and sixth grades."
While the 68 students were being rewarded for their academic achievement, Turner said the hope is that the experience will permeate the entire school.
"Hopefully they will go back and tell all the other kids how much fun they had and that will encourage them to get better grades, so they can do it, too," Turner said.
The jumps are part of the Partners in Education program, which partners schools with businesses, professional organizations, churches, civic clubs and military units in the 1st Battalion, 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment, which hosted the visit.
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