A group of Hernando County middle schoolers are tasting success at an early age.

The students at Explorer K-8 School in Spring Hill put together a video to promote literacy, and it's getting a lot of attention. 

The video was made by two eighth-graders, a seventh-grader and their teacher. It's a public service announcement, and they entered it in a statewide contest sponsored by the Florida Department of Education.

Melissa Sardogan is one of the three students, and she has her fingers crossed.

"I think we got a pretty good chance," Sardogan said.

The theme of the contest is "Reading Accelerates Success." The students say that if you dream of going to the moon, reading can make it happen.

Top education leaders love the video. They selected it as a top three finalist out of all the middle schools in the state that entered the contest. Adrian Cabrera also worked on the project and said he's thrilled.

"I was excited about it from the beginning," he said.

The production team spent weeks working on the video. Now they're hoping all that hard work pays off with a win.

"Just hoping for the best," Melissa said.

The winner of the contest will be announced by the end of the month.