A reading program at David A. Brown Middle School not only has students picking up more books, but thinking about their futures, too.

Called "College Bowl," classes at the Wildomar middle school have aligned themselves with a university as they compete to see who can read the most books.

To celebrate the program, the school held a ceremony Thursday where teachers clad in graduation gowns honored the top readers from each class.

"We want all of you to start thinking about your future and thinking about college," Principal Karen Gaither told the school's 780 students. "It also reinforces reading. The best thing we can do for you is make you good readers."

College Bowl has proven successful, said organizer Mary Riley, who is the language arts department chairwoman.

"We're seeing a lot more interest" in college, she said. "Besides reading, they're looking to the future."

Each fifth-period class selected a college, created a banner and did some research on the school. Colleges range from the University of Southern California, UCLA and San Diego State to Yale, Brown and West Point.

Using the Accelerated Reader program ---- where students take tests on each book they read and earn points based on its difficulty ---- points are tallied so classes can advance by grade levels.

Everyone started at kindergarten, trying to earn enough points to move up. Once a class has met its goal, one student heads to the office for a question based on a state standard for that grade level. Class members research the answer, and if they are correct, advance to the next grade level.

A party is earned at various levels. For example, kindergarten was a graham crackers and milk party, and eighth grade was root beer floats.

Students can advance all the way to Ph.D. level in the yearlong contest. The top classes so far have reached 10th grade.

There are also other activities to keep students involved, such as a football toss and candy cane relay.

Accelerated Reader is popular in elementary schools, but reading for pleasure tends to fall off in middle school, Riley said.

"We had a program," she said. "We had books in the library, and the students weren't using them."

With the competition, there has been a large increase in the number of books being checked out of the library, Riley said.

Seventh-grader Devin Planos, the high scorer in Riley's class, said she didn't need the competition to motivate her to pick up a book.

"I just read a lot," the 13-year-old said. "I'll read anything as long as it isn't boring."

The program is in its third year. The previous two years had an "Amazing Race" theme, based on geography and the popular television show where teams travel around the world completing tasks.

"We decided we wanted our students to become familiar with college," Riley said. "By making it school-wide, everybody sees the value of reading and of college. ... All of the teachers are talking about a common goal. There's a real bond between staff and students because of it."

Call staff writer Craig Shultz at 951-676-4315, ext. 2625.