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The students of Stephen Decatur Middle School yelled, stomped their feet on the bleachers and clapped their hands as Itari Pearson, head of the Clinton school's reading and language arts department, led a cheer from the center of the gymnasium floor.
"Reading!" she chanted into the microphone.
"Rocks!" responded the more than 700 students in grades 6 through 8 who were celebrating the launch of the school's annual 25 Books Campaign on Oct. 15.
The schoolwide program, which encourages students to read at least 25 books during the course of the school year, is an annual initiative created by America's Choice, a national education consulting firm, to raise literacy rates throughout the country.
The star-studded event at Stephen Decatur featured appearances by WPGC radio disc jockey D.J. Flexx, actor and entertainer Anwan Glover — a native of Washington, D.C., who was a regular actor on the HBO series, "The Wire" — County Council Chairwoman Marilyn Bland (D-Dist. 9) of Clinton and County Councilman Tony Knotts (D-Dist. 8) of Temple Hills.
The Gwynn Park High School marching band and dance team also performed at the ceremony.
At Stephen Decatur, students will have about 15 minutes each day to read a book of their choice, said Katreca Neale, an eighth-grade reading teacher. If students complete 25 books, they will have read close to one million words.
More than 10 percent of students in the school increased their reading proficiency last year, Neale said, a jump she attributes in part to the 25 Books program and the fact that students can choose what they read.
"Some of them, it's difficult to pry the book out of their hand when reading time is up," she said.
In his remarks, D.J. Flexx told students that he wished the program had been in place when he was in school.
"I found out quickly that if you want to be successful, everything is in a book," he said. He also made a promise that the student who read the most books would be invited to come on his radio show for a night, a pledge Assistant Principal Ronald Curtis said he intends to make sure the popular disc jockey keeps.
Eighth-grader Zaynah Pate, 13, of Clinton said she is looking forward to reading the "Twilight" series and "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," among other books, this year.
The program is "going to be really cool," she said. "It inspires kids to read."
Stephen Decatur administrators are hoping the program will push them closer to making Adequate Yearly Progress, a benchmark for measuring proficiency in reading and math, in 2010 for the first time ever. The state education department determines whether a school makes AYP by comparing year-to-year progress on the annual Maryland School Assessment, as required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
In 2009, 67.7 percent of Stephen Decatur students scored at a proficient level in reading, according to state education department data. That percentage has risen steadily since 2003, when 41.4 percent of students were reading at a proficient level.
"We feel this is our year," said Curtis, who added that he is reading a book on how to get along with teachers.
E-mail Zoe Tillman at ztillman@gazette.net.
