Peach Bowl, Atlanta Schools Team Up For Literacy

ATLANTA, GA -- The Peach Bowl and Atlanta Public Schools have become teammates to get the district's youngest students on a level playing field when it comes to reading.

The two organizations, along with the College Football Playoff Foundation, have partnered on a $1 million initiative to improve early childhood literacy among the school district's kindergartners through fifth-graders.

The partnership was announced Thursday and will allow Atlanta Public Schools to train more than 1,000 teachers in a specialized curriculum focused on reading skills. The training program will be implemented over a period of two to three years, according to a Chick-fil-A Bowl news release.

More than one-third of APS students read below their grade level, something that the new initiative aims to change.

“We have a passion to be involved and give back to our community, especially in education,” Gary Stokan, CEO and president of Peach Bowl Inc. and the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, said in a news release. “So we went to APS and asked them what their biggest problem was. They told us our children were not reading at a sufficient level and that they desperately needed help. We told them we were in. We pledged our full support.”

The Peach Bowl has long been involved in APS education initiatives, operating an academic mentoring program in the district since 2007.

Read more: All the events surrounding the Peach Bowl

The Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, featuring the Alabama Crimson Tide vs. the Washington Huskies, will be held at the Georgia Dome on Dec. 31.