Any time a school or a program inside our county can get local students motivated about learning, count us in.

That’s why the School of Discovery’s reading rally last week, meant to celebrate reading and get youth excited about opening a book, has us excited. Knowing how to read often seems to be a forgotten education cornerstone in today’s world, with smartphones and video games taking up much of the free time of our youth.

It’s honestly a tough battle for our educators to take on. After all, video games and electronics can take our imaginations many places, and in today’s world all of us seem to spend more time on our phones or computers than we’d like to.

But, it looks like SOD has found a way to take its students attention back. The school’s accelerated reader program entices students to pick up a good book by promising an ice cream party to those that reach or exceed their reading goals.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, the more students read for fun, the higher their reading scores.

Books can take our youth to far away lands and on journeys they never thought were possible. Even those of us that dislike reading can probably remember a good book that knocked our socks off and had us dying to get our hands on the sequel.

Though, it’s not just the program that has us excited- — it was the way SOD kicked it off.

Members of the cheer and tumble team flipped across the stage, giving students something to celebrate as the program kicked off for the year.

It’s good for our youth to be excited about reading, because it gives them a productive way to spend their free time. Picking up a good book and learning to be a good reader can take our youth places, in their imaginations and in the real world.