On your mark, get set, read! High school students are getting the chance to improve their reading speed and comprehension before school even starts.

It's all thanks to the Mesa County Business Education Foundation, a Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce sister organization. The group will be giving 100 high school students a chance to take the Evelyn Wood Speed Reading Course at no cost. The chamber says studies have shown reading skills are a major element in student success.

"Anecdotally we hear back from the students, at the end of the day, they do an evaluation, and typically what we find is they're reading up to three times faster than they were at the beginning of the day, and they're at least doubling their comprehension," Grand Junction Chamber C.E.O. Diane Schwenke said of the program.

The class will be held on Monday and there are still spots available. The chamber says those who are interested should show up to the event on Monday at 7:30 a.m. at the Colorado Mesa University Ballroom. Students need to read at a 9th grade level to benefit from program.