Georgia Reads Communities

Every Georgian has a role in literacy improvements. Our communities, anchored by local government leaders, businesses, faith-based and non-profit organizations, are showing us that together they are creating strategies to address low literacy from birth through adult years.

On September 30, 2024, Georgia Reads Community applications opened for any Georgia community with three to five years of proven partnership interaction and data showing improvements in some area of literacy. Sixty-one applications were submitted.

On February 25, 2025, Georgia Reads Day at the Capitol, 10 Georgia Reads Community winners were recognized and will receive $25,000 to continue their work.

Your community can learn from these winners’ best practices for literacy improvements. Consider forming a sustainable community partnership that can be a winner in upcoming years and can be recognized as a Georgia Reads Community.

2025 Georgia Reads Community Winners

Meet Our Georgia Reads Coach

Malcolm Mitchell

Malcolm Mitchell
Georgia Reads Coach

A true champion—on and off the field. Malcolm Mitchell, former Georgia Bulldog standout and Super Bowl champ with the Patriots, is now leading a whole new kind of team—as a literacy champion! He’s the founder of Read with Malcolm and Share the Magic Foundation, and he’s all in on helping kids fall in love with reading.

In 2024, the Georgia Council on Literacy launched Georgia Reads—and named Malcolm our official ‘Georgia Reads Coach’. Why? Because he’s lived it. He faced his own reading challenges head-on, fought through, and came out stronger. That’s the kind of grit and heart we need in this fight for literacy.

Malcolm’s passion, his Georgia pride, and his drive to make a difference make him the perfect coach for this mission.



2025 Georgia Reads Community Winners

2025 Georgia Reads Communities Map

Georgia Reads recognizes that communities that unify and empower partners are positioned to make significant improvements in literacy.  Our mission is to unify and empower the fragmented literacy ecosystem from Savannah to Columbus, Rome to Augusta, Valdosta to Athens, and every community in between. Georgia Reads Communities will be the shining stars in changing the trajectory of literacy in our state.

Ten community partnerships were awarded $25,000 and recognized as Georgia Reads Communities on February 25, 2025. Learn these communities’ best practices and join this coveted group of inaugural partnerships in making your community a shining example of literacy improvements.

It’s a new dawn – let’s turn the page to a brighter future!

Learn More About Becoming a Georgia Reads Community

Believe Greater Dalton Dalton, GA

Ben Hill School District Fitzgerald, GA

Black Child Development Institute Read to Succeed Greater Atlanta, GA

Charlton County Board of Education Charlton County, GA

Cobb Collaborative, Inc. Cobb County, GA

Dooly County Schools Dooly County, GA

Lamar County School System Lamar County, GA

Marietta City Schools Marietta, GA

ReadSource and Purpose-Built Schools of Atlanta Atlanta, GA

RISE Augusta, Inc. Augusta, GA

Learn More About Becoming a Georgia Reads Community