JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Duval County Public Schools' reading initiative, Read It Forward Jax!, has been selected as a first-place winner in the Overall Image Campaign category for the Sunshine Medallion Awards.

The goal of the reading program is to improve literacy and reading comprehension skills for all Duval County Public Schools' students.

Read It Forward Jax!, launched in 2011, partners with city, business, faith-based and non-profit organizations throughout city.

Evidence had to be submitted to the The Sunshine State Public School Public Relations Association (SUNSPRA) showing the program is successful and has a positive impact on Duval County.  The school district sent project details, results and budget information to show how well the reading program has done in the county.

Duval County Public Schools also had to submit two public service announcements: the Chick-fil-A Family Reading Night video and the first day of school launch video.

The award will be presented at the Florida Association of School Administrators Summer Conference in June. The conference will be held in Tampa.

First Coast News