ATLANTA (WJBF) - Hundreds of students gathered at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta Monday morning to hear from former University of Georgia and NFL player Malcolm Mitchell, who shared his passion for reading and stressed the importance of starting young.

Governor Brian Kemp officially proclaimed the day as Georgia Reads Day, part of a statewide push to raise literacy rates and make reading a priority inside and outside classrooms.

Earlier this year, state lawmakers approved $18 million for the Georgia Council of Literacy, funding 265 literacy coaches across Georgia. Sixty of those coaches will work directly with schools through a continuous improvement program aimed at helping students — particularly in elementary grades — strengthen reading skills.

“We had to do something t

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