Ga. First lady Sandra Deal reads to Atlanta students

ATLANTA - Georgia's first lady made a special stop at an Atlanta charter school on Monday.

Sandra Deal visited a third grade classroom at Centennial Academy.

Deal read to the students as part of her Read Across Georgia Initiative.

But that wasn't all.

After reading a book together, the students took their literacy skills a step further and wrote what they had read.

The first lady says working on these skills early can lead to lifelong success.

"We want them to grow and be able to hold the jobs – the good paying jobs – that we have coming to this state," first lady Deal said. "And we need them to be educated and it starts right in these lower grades."

The initiative is part of the governor's goal to increase the percentage of children reading at grade level by the end of third grade.