Tonganoxie High sophomore wrestler Jonas Myers high-fives Shane Lewis, a Tonganoxie Elementary School second-grader, after winning a match on Feb. 4. The two became friends through the “Leadership in Sports” class, which sends students to the elementary school weekly.

Tonganoxie ? Shane Lewis wasn’t crazy about reading.

He was maniacal about rock ‘n’ roll and wrestling. Reading? Not so much.

But that was a few weeks ago, before Shane, a Tonganoxie Elementary School second-grader, met Jonas Myers.

A sophomore in the “Leadership in Sports” class at Tonganoxie High School, Myers, like others taking the course, visits TES weekly to interact with young students and encourage them to work hard in school.

Knowing that Myers not only wrestles but also plays in the pep band at THS, Brandon Parker, who teaches the leadership class, set him up with Shane, figuring the pair would be a good fit.

Parker had no idea how right he was. The two immediately hit it off. Shane said it was due to common interests.

“First of all, he is cool and he likes the things I like, which is really also cool,” he said.

Shane’s exuberant personality, Myers said, made it easy for someone nearly twice his age to become his new friend.

“He’s just a blast to be around,” Myers said, noting the youngster’s ability to make him laugh.

Shane’s enthusiasm for his weekly visits with Myers also forged a newfound interest in reading, something he once considered far from exciting.

Myers and Shane, a 9-year-old with cerebral palsy, meet weekly with special education instructor Shelby Noonan. Since they started doing reading exercises together, Noonan said, Shane has shown more confidence and a positive attitude.

“He often asks me questions like, ‘What would Jonas do?’ or ‘What would Jonas think of my positive attitude?’ or ‘Can we save this book and read it to Jonas?'” Noonan said.

Inspiring young students

Parker started sending THS leadership students to TES in the 2008-09 year. While not everyone spends the same one-on-one time as Shane and Myers, the interactions have been a roaring success.

Parker said the idea arose because he wanted high school athletes to realize they are role models to young Tonganoxie children. A total of 20 THS students provide assistance in 12 elementary school classes each week.

The program started last year with the use of baseball-type cards that featured THS leadership class students.

This year’s cards are “Chieftain Character” cards and feature a THS student with a positive word or phrase on the front, with a hand-written message from an athlete on the back.

Kindergarten teacher Tiffany Parker rewards students with a card if they’ve struggled with a certain characteristic in the past. Once a student displays progress with an attribute, he or she receives a card.

The concept, Brandon Parker said, has provided incentive and developed results. “Last year and this year,” he said, “kids that weren’t able to do things now are able to do them.”

As for Shane, he has to stay on top of his schoolwork to keep hanging out with Myers. Two weeks ago, Shane completed a reading exercise in record time. Noonan asked him why he was so focused. “Because I’m happy,” he said.