From bookworms to snowboards

March 27, 2005

JOEL DAVIDSON/Frontiersman reporter

WASILLA - Imagine a school where world-class snowboarders with video games made of them jump off the roof of the school, down a massive snow ramp and then soar through the air.

Imagine the snowboarders bouncing off the outside walls of the school, doing back-flips, front flips and 360's while more than 400 students scream at the top of their lungs.

This was the scene Wednesday at Wasilla Middle School - the location of Shred Fest 2005.

In order to attend the event, students had to read five or more books in two months and pass a test, with a score of 80 percent or better. In a school of 750 students, more than half rose to the challenge.

"I've found nothing else that gets kids to read like this sort of thing," said Principal Amy Spargo. "The kids have read 3,515 books since January 12th."

The University of Anchorage Alaska's radio station, 88.1 KRUA, provided the soundtrack for the two-hour event, blasting rap, hip-hop and rock-n-roll from the school's roof.

As former X-Games snowboard champion Jason Borgstede stared down the ramp, preparing for his next jump from the roof, kids cheered him on. Before jumping, he grabbed a microphone.

"Are you stoked on books?" he asked the frenzied crowd.

They howled their approval and Borgstede took off for another flipping, twisting, mind-boggling jump. Borgstede and Travis Parker, both former X-Games competitors, were the headliner names for the event, which also included several local Alaskan snowboarders. After each jump, the snowboarders ran past hundreds of fans, slapping high-fives, shaking hands and signing autographs.

Shred Fest was the brainchild of WMS eighth-grade science teacher Jason Moore. Wearing sunglasses and a stylish winter cap, Moore looked the part of a Shred Fest DJ. An avid snowboarder himself, Moore thought of the event as a way to inspire reading.

Last year, Moore contacted Borgstede to come speak to students about alternative careers. As a result of that career day last year, Moore and some of his buddies hauled pickup truck loads of snow to the school for a miniature version of Shred Fest. This year, they wanted to make the event much bigger. Gumley Excavation provided the snow this year, using a back-end loader to create an impressive mound that was able to weather the 40-degree temperatures.

With world-class athletes volunteering their time and money, more than 30 event sponsors, thousands of dollars in prizes and multiple media outlets covering the event, Moore said Shred Fest was everything Moore could have dreamed of.

"Travis Parker, you don't get much better than Travis and Jason," Moore said. "Travis is, you know, he's in video games. I used to try to beat him in video games when I was a kid. It's just amazing. Some of these guys I've read in magazines. It's just incredible to have them here."

For months, Moore showed snowboarding DVDs on Fridays to get the kids excited. By the sound of the cheers, they were fully primed.

"It's awesome," said sixth-grader Oksana Netsvetayeva.

That sentiment was shared by almost everyone.

"The tricks, the air, the stunts - it's awesome," said seventh-grader Kevin McManus.

School librarian Bonnie Cavanaugh said the event was very effective in getting non-reading kids or kids who struggle with reading to pick up books. She said the school has been in a reading flurry over the last couple months.

"The kids are reading all the time," she said. "Teachers have even had to take books away because kids wanted to read during math and science."

With Shred Fest 2005 winding down, Moore strapped on a snowboard at the top of the ramp. The students exploded with the loudest cheers of the afternoon.

"Mr. Moore, Mr. Moore, Mr. Moore," they shouted in unison.

Moore took off. It wasn't the back-flipping stunts of the professionals, but the kids loved it. After the event, Moore put the event into perspective.

"It's amazing," he said. "We wanted to make it bigger this year. Sponsors just kept coming in and coming in and it turned into this. I don't think it could have gone any better."

Spargo was so impressed with the academic results of Shred Fest that she wants to turn it into an annual event.

"The credit goes to Jason Moore. He snowboards and stuff and this is what our kids are interested in," she said, while standing in front of the energized crowd.

Long-term substitute teacher Chris Cavanaugh said he's seen a change in the school, leading up to Shred Fest.

"Instead of reading comics or trying to get out of reading, they read their books," he said. "It's a big plus for them."

Contact Joel Davidson at joel.davidson@frontiersman.com.