Prattville Elementary students wrote Gov. Ivey 151 letters. On Tuesday, she came to visit.

PRATTVILLE – Students at Prattville Elementary School welcomed a special guest Tuesday morning when Gov. Kay Ivey stopped by to praise their efforts at summer learning camp.

Superhero Summer Camp participants, students in grades K-3, read books, and worked on math and science projects. Part of the curriculum was writing the governor to explain their love of reading. Students at the elementary school wrote 151 letters to the governor, the most of any school in the state.

Her visit generated plenty of excitement as local leaders gathered at the school.

"It's always good to welcome the governor," Superintendent Lyman Woodfin said. "We are very appreciative of her coming to speak to the students."

Ivey addressed a special assembly to thank the students for their efforts. Dozens of students lined the sidewalk coming into the school, many displaying hand-made signs, welcoming the governor. The school teaches students in the third and fourth grades.

"I've always been a heavy reader," Ivey, a former teacher, told the students gathered in the school's lunchroom. "And I stand here right now in a room full of readers. Promise me y'all will keep reading.

"The more you read the better you will get. It's just like practicing a sport or an instrument. The more you do it, the better you will get."

During the assembly, students committed to continuing their good reading habits by taking Short the Squirrel's Reading pledge, which reads, "I promise to try and read every night to make reading my superpower." Short, the state's literacy mascot, was among several guests including Eric Mackey, the Alabama State Superintendent of Education.

It's good for students to develop a love of reading early, she said.

"You learn to read, then you read to learn," Ivey said. "I want you to repeat a phrase 'Strong students. Strong Alabama'. You are the foundation of our great state's future.

"Thank you for letting me join the excitement of a new year. Now let's make this school year the best one yet."

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Ivey visits Prattville Elementary after kids describe love of reading