Education
Education

Atlanta students given books as part of ‘reading relay’

By Mark Niesse
Nov 8, 2013

Volunteers read to more than 500 students at Perkerson Elementary School on Friday and gave each of them five books to take home as part of a program to combat childhood illiteracy.

The reading initiative was designed to reach children in low-income areas because students who read below grade level in fourth grade are much more likely to become high school dropouts.

The event was sponsored by professional services and accounting firm KPMG, which is hosting similar “reading relay” programs across the country.

About the Author

Mark Niesse is an enterprise reporter and covers elections and Georgia government for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and is considered an expert on elections and voting. Before joining the AJC, he worked for The Associated Press in Atlanta, Honolulu and Montgomery, Alabama. He also reported for The Daily Report and The Santiago Times in Chile.

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