On Nov. 6, 2018, Atlanta Public Schools launched our district-wide literacy campaign, #APSRace2Read – a challenge designed to encourage students, teachers, staff and parents to read daily and collectively reach 2 million minutes of reading by the end of the 2018-2019 academic year. In less than two months, APS surpassed our original 2 million minutes goal. So, we decided to raise the bar to 13.1 million minutes—the equivalent of a half marathon of reading! Our goal is to reach 13.1 million minutes by the start of the 2019-2020 school year. Minutes are logged at: www.beanstack.com/race2read.
Collectively, we have read 5,222,965 minutes and counting! Below are our performance highlights (calculated as of Feb. 27).
Springdale Park reader
Springdale Park reader
Springdale Park reader
School Leaders in Logging: These are our 10 top performing schools in terms of total minutes logged since the #APSRace2Read campaign launched last November.
| School | Minutes |
| 1. Springdale Park Elementary School | 291,343 |
| 2. Sutton Middle School | 253,504 |
| 3. Sarah Smith Elementary School | 247,667 |
| 4. Morningside Elementary School | 245,284 |
| 5. Tuskeegee Airmen Global Academy | 244,646 |
| 6. Morris Brandon Elementary School | 225,440 |
| 7. Miles Elementary School | 202,704 |
| 8. Deerwood Academy | 198,605 |
| 9. Inman Middle School | 182,880 |
| 10. Grady High School | 175,482 |
Long Middle reader 
Long Middle reader
Long Middle reader
Long Middle readers 
Long Middle readers
Schools Making Progress in Logging: These are our top 10 schools with the most minutes logged over the past two weeks (Feb. 13 – Feb. 27, 2019).
| School | Minutes |
| 1. Long Middle School | 22,395 |
| 2. Sutton Middle School | 19,785 |
| 3. Garden Hills Elementary School | 17,578 |
| 4. Perkerson Elementary School | 14,286 |
| 5. Grady High School | 12,987 |
| 6. Miles Elementary School | 9,338 |
| 7. E. Rivers Elementary School | 8,645 |
| 8. Inman Middle School | 7,238 |
| 9. Fickett Elementary School | 7,086 |
| 10. Usher-Collier Elementary School | 6,950 |
Humphries Elementary School readers
School Leaders in Participation: These are our top 10 performing schools in terms of overall student participation.
| School | Participation |
| 1. Humphries Elementary School | 98.04% |
| 2. Long Middle School | 95.65% |
| 3. Toomer Elementary School | 95.19% |
| 4. Finch Elementary School | 94.04% |
| 5. West Manor Elementary School | 85.16% |
| 6. Cleveland Elementary School | 74.36% |
| 7. Morris Brandon Elementary School | 74.01% |
| 8. Sarah Smith Elementary School | 71.28% |
| 9. Boyd Elementary School | 67.86% |
| 10. Benteen Elementary School | 66.33% |
Dr. Melissa Dandy Walker is a digital learning specialist (mathematics) in the APS Department of Instructional Technology. She is leading the race for non-student participants.
Let’s not forget our top 10 APS staff, families and community members who are also reading and logging minutes toward our 13.1 million minutes goal!
| Name | Minutes Applied to: | Minutes |
| 1. Melissa Dandy Walker | APS Central Office | 5,523 |
| 2. Victoria Koehler | Perkenson Elementary School | 3,930 |
| 3. Juliet Wood | Toomer Elementary School | 3,565 |
| 4. Susan Waterbury | Carver High School | 2,650 |
| 5. Iyannah Walker | Boyd Elementary School | 2,183 |
| 6. Linda Green | Carver High School | 1,830 |
| 7. Devon White Jr. | Sylvan Hills Middle School | 1,780 |
| 8. Sherna Ann Phillips | APS Central Office | 1,769 |
| 9. Janvette Dickerson | Beecher Hills Elementary School | 1,765 |
| 10. Rania Sado | North Atlanta High School | 1,672 |
Remember, #APSRace2Read is about free-choice reading. Read books, magazines, articles, scholarly papers, etc. Read, read, read — and log your minutes at www.beanstack.com/race2read to count toward our 13.1 million minutes goal!
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