Page 69 - Best Chapter Spring 2017

rant ‘L r r _i
l‘i"l.- . s EM
K ‘I ,- J‘ it .. ‘T F. V’ ”-. . ""3,
with students through the 4th grade. Each week, *—*\_ ‘_ ‘ ‘ I-" _ ' P’ _‘ ‘ ‘- vi‘ ‘
in most of the program’s classes, Chess in Schools I f _ K . ’ ‘ 1
sends a trained chess player into the schools to teach l C ‘W \ if ‘P - .| P "
students lessons during a regularly scheduled class ‘ ' . S 3
time.Teachers and parents agree to support the 1, ~\ ‘ . C ‘LJ
program, and the children’s educational schedule ' zg. §' ...£ , V"
adjusts to accommodate one chess lesson each week. 7. P“ m. ‘ ;
“Since we launched the program in 2013, it has ‘ _, L’ "--
grown every year,” Fennell said. “Teachers and L’
parents are seeing the impact that chess has on their ‘‘ I
students, and they want to expand the program as » 9 ‘
much as they can.” ' - J . F . I ‘ ‘ l
{"1 i ' 3;‘, _ >"v . . L!‘ E ' ‘A
The Cris Collinsworth ProScan Fund utilizes many . ‘ ll ligfi _ ‘,5 . _ Q, I
volunteers to support the program, but the primary ‘ 7 I : ‘ ' 4 , , I. .'
instructors are paid for their time in the classroom. r ‘. - \ ‘ tr,-' " ‘
Donations help cover the instructor fees as well - ll i ’E, 7. » ' K
as all of the chess supplies. In addition to some of ” I i A " ‘L‘v‘." ' : l L.
Cincinnati’s public schools, Chess in Schools goes to ~ ‘, _ - . ! ‘ __ '’ 1 S - «
St. Rita’s School for the Deaf, the Children’s Home ' A ‘ V: ' - -* S g
of Cincinnati, and Holy Family, a Catholic inner- ' ' % . *7‘ ' ' ' ‘
cityschool. ‘-6 C -- ’\»:(7 C3 .
At Pleasant Hill Academy in College Hill, Chess in "/ . «_, ‘ ". P — I/‘ P“ "
Schools has been an active program for three years. _ _ H9.
Tim Walker, Resource Coordinator for Pleasant ‘* __‘ __l * if ._ __, 7°.
Hill, has witnessed the power that playing chess can ‘ ‘ m I . . A l
have for students. In a previous position at a different . r . . 1;!
school, Walker saw the effect of chess on students, so ";___ 4‘ ‘V ‘ __ _,
when he switched positions and started working at ; £ “R! 1 ‘
Pleasant Hill, he wanted to bring chess with him. 3, ~ ' ' , _ _ - -p "" __ ' '-'_ _ '
. ‘.?‘;'33-'\‘x~;' - | - ‘ . C ~
“I knew I wanted to bring chess to Pleasant Hill, “.1 -' ’ ~ @“ V '
but I also knew that offering it as part of the school ~ ‘ , "’ ; “ ‘xiii -4 l P '
day was going to be critical to seeing results,” Walker ‘ ‘ " ‘7 I
said. “Our principal was supportive of the program _ -r... v . ‘
and bringing new and innovative ways to teach our . P ‘ P , u -4
students, so we introduced the Chess in Schools ' ' -' ‘i \ , i~ '
program as part of the students’ instructional ‘ i ‘.1 ll" ~ V‘ ( ‘I’
schedule.” '
Top, students at Ethel Taylor Academy in Cincinnati play
The program is free for students and families, and it’s against Sjtudents from Lincoln Elementary in_ Déytonf
. . . , Kentucky. Middle, students at Three Rivers in Cincinnati
integrated into the childrens regularly scheduled > may a live chess match where each player acted as a piece_
Bottom, students from Pleasant Hill Academy in Cincinnati
traveled to Lincoln Elementary in Dayton, Kentucky for a
mini chess tournament.
BEST CHAPTER 69