Last November, the readers and their sponsoring organization, the Tift County
Foundation for Educational Excellence, celebrated the earning of a million
AR points.

     But the 1,006,938 books read represent a more tangible success, TCFEE
Executive Director Mike Brumby said.

     Since the AR program awards points for books based on length and difficulty,
a reader may earn half a point for a very simple book or more than 100
points for “War and Peace.”

     The million books are a measure that anyone can understand, Brumby said. More
than 95 percent of the books were read by students at Tift County’s 11
public schools and Tiftarea Academy, although adults reading for the
foundation’s “Read for the Roof” program also pitched in.

     The points meanwhile keep accumulating, with 1,194,612 at the end of March.

     “We went up over 42,000 points,” Brumby said. “That’s probably the best
month we ever had.”

     Tifton’s AR program received national attention with its million points, with
news stories in Time magazine and on NBC and CBS. Brumby and the foundation
have been contacted by interested teachers and volunteers from every state.
There is now a Reading Capital of the World website (www.readingcapital.com )
and the foundation continues to look for ways to expand the program.