Hawks Celebrate Winning School For APS Race2Read Program

Jackson Caudell | Apr 13, 2024

Atlanta Hawks

Earlier today, the Hawks hosted a pep rally to celebrate Deerwood Academy’s top performance in the Atlanta Public Schools’ March Race2Read Challenge. Students got to celebrate with members of Hawks Entertainment including Harry the Hawk, the ATL Dancers, and the 404 Crew. During the reading celebration, the Hawks recognized the top three classrooms, top three readers, and presented the school with a book stipend for the media center.

“We’re excited to celebrate Deerwood Academy’s amazing commitment to reading,” said Hawks’ Vice President of Community Impact and Basketball Programs, Jon Babul. “Reading is essential for academic success, so we are excited to work with Atlanta Public Schools in their literacy efforts.”

The APS ‘Race2Read’ Challenge is a district-wide campaign that encourages students to read and recognizes schools with the highest participation at each level. Deerwood Academy came in first place with 100% student participation for the month of March.

“It was so exciting to see all the students’ reactions today and celebrate their achievements in reading,” said Joy Antone, Principal of Deerwood Academy. “The donation will also help us branch out to even more books and help our students get the resources they’re interested in.”

In addition to Deerwood Academy, the Hawks celebrated Heritage Academy and Dobbs Elementary School who finished in second and third place respectively. Each of the three schools will receive an award and a book stipend for the school’s media center.

In addition to today’s event, the Hawks also celebrated National Literacy Month at Hope-Hill Elementary School and Virginia-Highland Elementary School. Volunteers read books written by children for children and donated the books to each school at the end of the event. The College Park Skyhawks also hosted a “Drop Everything and Read” event in March at West Clayton Elementary School. Volunteers from the Hawk sand Skyhawks organizations read aloud to students and each student was able to take home a free book.

To learn more about the Hawks work in the community, visit Hawks.com/Community.

To learn more about the Skyhawks work in the community, visit CPSkyhawks.com.