More than $20,000 in federal stimulus money is funding programs at one Cherokee County school to improve students' academic skills.

Johnston Elementary School in Woodstock has won more than $22,730 in grants funded by the federal stimulus package passed earlier this year.

Principal Gena Hood said the money is being divided up for five initiatives at Johnston.

One grant provides bus transportation for at-risk students who qualify to receive after-school tutoring. Another program helps special education teachers better teach phonemic skills to their students.

The school obtained a grant to use an online database to monitor academic and behavioral progress of students. To help students who are struggling with math, the school is using grant money to fund a competition called "Math Wars."

The competition happens every day among the school's third- through fifth-grade students. The students in teams compete to quickly solve math problems and win points.

All county schools had the opportunity to apply for the grants, which totaled about $3.3 million, according to Ken Owen, district supervisor of grants management.

Most of the schools that applied received some sort of grant funding, he added.

Grants also were awarded to Johnston to start its own partnership with River Ridge High School through which athletes read to its at-risk students.

Funding allows for the River Ridge High athletes to visit Johnston Elementary four times this school year to spend as long as an hour each time helping struggling readers.

The program additionally serves as a mentoring and leadership program, as the athletes find ways to encourage their younger counterparts to stick with reading and talk to them about it's important to their future.

The athletes also play reading games that will help students improve their skills.

The program uses $650 in grant funding, said Tamara White, a counselor at Johnston. The money is being used for transportation, training materials, and snacks for students.

About 21 Johnston students are participating in the program, Ms. White said.

Other county high schools have partnerships where they read to students in their feeder schools.

Creekview High School athletes read to students at Macedonia and Avery Elementary schools once a month.

Woodstock High School athletes read to students at Woodstock Elementary School. The school is also hoping to expand to read to Carmel Elementary students, principal Bill Sebring said.

Etowah High and Sequoyah High school student athletes also read to all the schools in its feeder zones on a regular basis.

Jeff Bennett, counselor at River Ridge, said 42 freshmen are actively participating in the program.

A former counselor at Etowah High School, Bennett said he started a similar partnership with Boston Elementary while at Etowah.

"I knew it was a program I wanted to start again," he said.

Bennett asked English teachers at River Ridge to nominate students they thought "showed an interest and passion for reading." He then reviewed the nominations with River Ridge's coaches.

Bennett then did short, informal interviews with students to see which would be up to the task.

After the selection process, counselors at Johnston came to a monthly leadership training seminar Bennett holds one Saturday each month to tell the athletes about their expectations.

The athletes only have been to the school once so far, but Bennett said they seem excited about bonding with Johnston Elementary students.

Three more trips are planned for the spring semester.

Ms. White said Johnston students eagerly ask her when the athletes will come back and read to them.

The program benefits Johnston students, she said, because it shows them that athletes are just as serious about academics as non-athletes, Ms. White said.

Also, the program "gives students that extra nudge to get motivated."

Seeing River Ridge athletes show up in their jerseys was enough motivation for fifth-grader Josh Burns to work to improve his reading skills.

The 11-year-old son of Paul and Traci Burns of Woodstock said the games he plays with his mentor have helped him learn new words.

"I like it a lot," he said. "It helps build our fluency."

River Ridge athlete Alex Gee said he likes seeing the smiles on the students' faces when he and his fellow classmates show up.

The 15-year-old son of Bob and Deborah Gee of Woodstock said he decided to participate because he wanted to get involved in the community.

The freshman said when Bennett approached him about the idea, he said "he would be the first to sign up."

Alex, who plays football, basketball and baseball, said he could tell the Johnston students enjoyed the opportunity to bond with them.

Along with helping youngsters read, Alex said participating athletes can learn leadership skills they will be able to use in the future.

"They can be a positive role model," he said.