A little more than a year since the Chick-fil-A Bowl implemented the National Football Foundation’s Play It Smart program in the Atlantic public high schools, the results of the effort are unquestionably remarkable.

Nearly all (94 percent) of the student-athletes who participated in the program last year graduated, compared with 68.3 percent in the Atlanta public schools generally and 72.3 percent of students statewide. Larger percentages of program participants also enroll in college, and the SAT scores of program participants were more than 200 points higher than their closest peer group.

Program participants also completed more than 1,000 hours of community service in the Atlanta area and received 60 college scholarships.

“I think it’s gone beyond our wildest dreams of success,” said Gary Stokan, president of the Chick-Fil-A Bowl. “It’s a great way to give back to kids that may not have as many opportunities.”

The program places an “academic coach” in a high school specifically for football student-athletes. The academic coach provides a blend of traditional academic advising with counseling and mentoring for at-risk students.

The Chick-Fil-A Bowl wants to expand the reach of the Play It Smart program through one of its already-established scholarship programs. The group endows $100,000 scholarships at each school that participates in the bowl game each year (so far, Georgia, Virginia Tech, Clemson, Auburn, Georgia Tech and LSU). Stokan hopes that ultimately the scholarship will go to a participant in the Play It Smart program in the Atlanta schools, provided the student-athlete meets the criteria and chooses to attend one of the participating schools.

“In four years, when those kids graduate from school, they can come back and talk to the kids (in the Atlanta area) to tell them that if they do these things, you can be like me someday,” Stokan said.

Len Stachitas, Play It Smart executive director, said that the Chick-Fil-A Bowl’s continued financial support of the program is crucial, but the obvious commitment of the organization to Play It Smart is what counts. The Chick-Fil-A Bowl has hosted events for program coaches and worked to try to get other organizations involved nationally.

“We’d like to add more schools, but we can’t do as many as we’d like because we don’t have the resources. There aren’t enough Chick-Fil-A Bowls yet,” Stachitas said. “Being able to impact a whole school district (like in Atlanta) is something we’re working on. I think it can have a positive impact and set a good example.”

For his part, Stokan is excited about continuing the program, expanding its reach in Atlanta and nationally.

“We hope people in other communities really take a look at this program,” he said. “We’ve seen a level of success that (Play It Smart) has been able to convert on. It’s paid off here locally, but they’ve been able to use that leverage in other cities.”

For more information about the program, visit www.playitsmart.org.