The students at Dodgen Middle School had a busy summer.

They may have gone on family vacation or swam in the pool or went to camp, but they were also reading. Like, a lot.

Students at Dodgen in Marietta read 1,002,287 minutes during the summer. No other school in Georgia read more.

Aside from probably a better vocabulary, the school also wins Scholastic's Summer Reading Challenge.

That also means Dodgen will be listed in "Best & Buzzworthy 2017: World Records, Trending Topics and Viral Moments" and will receive a plaque.

"This impressive number reiterates the consistent focus and commitment the Dodgen staff places on the importance of reading, said Loralee A. Hill, principal of Dodgen. "Our accomplishment not only reflects the support of the entire community but also exemplifies our school-wide love of reading."

Dodgen was one of only 29 schools in the nation to log more than one million minutes of reading.

"Our teachers encourage students to always have a book for pleasure reading and allow them to make their own reading choices,” said Sue Klodnicki, the school's library media specialist. "Our parents believe in the benefit of reading and support the efforts the students made. This statewide achievement was truly a collaborative effort."

This isn't a first for Cobb schools; McClure Middle School students ranked number one for summer reading last year.

Like Cobb County News Now on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

About the Author

Keep Reading

A rustic sign on Ponce de Leon Avenue at the city's edge read “Welcome to Atlanta” on one side and “Leaving Atlanta” on the other side. The sign stood at the edge of the Olmsted Linear Park next to a city-limits marker and might have been updated over the years. (Kimberly Smith/AJC Archive at GSU Library 1993)

Credit: AJC Archive at GSU Library

Featured

An aerial view captures a large area under construction for a new data center campus on Thursday, May 29, 2025. Developed by QTS, the data center campus near Fayetteville is one of the largest under construction in Georgia. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez