THOMASVILLE, Ga. — When it comes to improving reading skills and fluency for young children, a South Georgia school system’s got an app for that.

Thomasville, Georgia, City Schools, in conjunction with Washington D.C.-based literacy company Footsteps2Brilliance, introduced community partners and other education leaders to the school system’s latest work during the Rose City Readers: Early Learning Summit on Thursday

“it is not unusual that our city and our schools have taken on this role as trailblazers and offer our citizens a uniquely engaging opportunity,” TCS Superintendent Sabrina Boykins-Everett said.

Thomasville is the first in the state to be designated a Model Innovation City with Footsteps2Brillance, whose programming is described as a breakthrough early-learning solution to help all children become proficient readers by third grade.

“This opportunity will be a shining light in Thomasville,” said city school board Chairman Chris Rodd. “Reading is freedom. You get to choose what you read. You can take yourself anywhere you want to go.”

Boykins-Everett said Gov. Nathan Deal and first lady Sandra Deal have recognized the challenges facing students in kindergarten through third grade.

“They have created a sense of urgency among leaders in education,” she said. “They have formed Get Georgia Reading campaign to address those factors which impact reading proficiency.”

Statistics from Footsteps2Brilliance show that at-risk children hear 30 million fewer words by age 3 than more affluent peers. Those children enter kindergarten with only 25 percent of the vocabulary they need, according to the program, and 88 percent of them never catch up. Sixty-one percent of at-risk kids also have no books in their home.

The Footsteps2Brilliance app leverages mobile devices and computers already in use by families, Boykins-Everett said. Children coming to local schools have only 25 percent of the skills they need, and Boykins-Everett said the Footsteps2Brilliance app was chosen because it is proactive and available 24-7.

The school system also found that 98 percent of the homes had some sort of mobile device or computer.

While the use of smartphones and smartphone technology in academia has become increasingly popular when it comes to reaching older students, free apps that promote early literacy like the one developed by Footsteps2Brilliance are a relatively new concept.

During the summit, student Krya Braswell demonstrated how children navigate the app and showed the story she wrote on her own using it. Riley Wade, who is 3 years old, also showed how the youngest readers can put the app to use.

“She looks forward to it every day. She asks to do it,” said Milan Wade, Riley’s mother. “She loves it.”

The Footsteps2Brilliance App has audio-encoded books, songs and games in English and Spanish — there’s a feature that allows users to toggle back and forth between English and Spanish — that help students develop skills in comprehension, writing, literacy and vocabulary.

“If they haven’t been immersed in vocabulary, if they haven’t been immersed in language, it’s an uphill battle,” Footsteps2Brilliance CEO Ilene Rosenthal said.

In seven weeks since the program began, Thomasville City students have read 9.5 million words and more than 3,900 books. Assistant Superintendent Dr. Laine Reichert challenged students to read another 1 million words during the summer.

“This initiative has the potential to bring the rising tide that raises all ships in the greater Thomasville area,” Reichert said.

Dr. Larry Lewis, CEO of The Impact Institute for Transformation, Innovation and Student Achievement, pointed out that 66 percent of Georgia third-graders read below grade level. He added many students who read below grade level in third grade wind up in a poverty cycle or in prison.

“We can safely say today that will no longer happen in Thomasville, Georgia,” Lewis said.

Donahue is the editor of the Thomasville, Georgia Times-Enterprise.