The two talked about what they have in common—namely GRIT. Dr. Duckworth brings the concept of grit to the classroom. Coach Carroll brings it to the football field. Both have been wildly successful.

NAA is beyond excited to have Duckworth share her expertise with NAA16 participants, and we've heard people are looking forward to seeing her.

One seasoned NAA Convention participant, Denise Sellers, executive director of Haddonfield Child Care, is beyond excited to hear Duckworth speak at NAA16.

"This year, I am particularly excited to hear the keynote speaker, Angela Duckworth, a MacArthur Fellow and psychologist from the University of Pennsylvania. I am familiar with her work on grit and resilience in children, and can't wait to read her book, Grit, which comes out in May. I believe that afterschool is an ideal place for children to try new challenges and experience failures, because we can provide a low-risk, but highly supportive environment to test new skills and experiment with new interests.

"Our program has never been specifically academic in nature; we have always felt our best path to encouraging academic achievement was through establishing strong adult/child relationships, offering real and meaningful activities to spark creativity, and helping children grow and develop perseverance, self-regulation, and other social and emotional assets, which in turn benefit them academically. I can't wait to hear Dr. Duckworth's research and suggestions on how we can better incorporate life skills into these programs!"

Click here to learn more about Dr. Angela Duckworth and NAA16. See you in Orlando!