At the reading parade, Jurren Bhalla, a second-grader at Hiller Elementary in Madison Heights, shows how much she read over the summer.
Districts say reading programs help improve scores.
As the reading parade begins, police block off nearby roads. The din of a marching band grows louder as people line the streets on blankets and folding chairs. It's just another September day in Madison Heights' Lamphere school district, where children who read are lavished with the kind of attention usually reserved for football players. To be part of the parade, elementary school students must read for 1,000 minutes during the summer, as verified by their parents. The youngest children may qualify by having their parents read to them.