Bullitt County making moves to grow chess in schools
3:27 PM, Oct 9, 2012
Maryville Elementary School fifth-grader David Vance sat quietly and contemplatively stared at a chessboard as his opponent, Mount Washington Middle School teacher Jeffrey Scott, did the same.
Although situated in a noisy school cafeteria, the two were engaged in a strategic struggle. For 45 minutes, David and Scott exchanged moves, took each other’s pieces and carefully mapped out what they thought would be the winning move. Finally, David checkmated Scott.
“David’s a great competitor,” said Scott, who coaches Mount Washington’s chess team. “He taught me a few things.”
David had asked to play Scott at a recent open chess practice at Maryville where Scott was helping teach students the game’s fundamentals. David is one of Maryville’s top chess players, and Bullitt County Public Schools would like to produce more players like him.
The school board recently approved the creation of a paid part-time district chess coordinator position that would help grow the game in schools.
The new district chess coordinator will earn a $2,500 stipend and create an interscholastic chess league that will involve teams from every Bullitt County school. The coordinator will also set up training for the district’s chess coaches, according to the job posting.
The district’s 13 elementary schools formed chess teams last school year, and teams from the county’s six middle schools will begin play this fall.
Dennis Minnis, a physical education teacher at Maryville Elementary, started a chess club at the school shortly after being hired in 2004. The club has roughly 50 members and will soon pit its top players against other youngsters within the county.
“When I interviewed here, I told them I really wanted to do this,” Minnis said of the chess club.
Minnis uses free online resources to teach students the game’s fundamentals and bought several clocks and boards when he started the club in 2004. The district’s chess coaches now get a $1,000 annual stipend from the schools.
When Minnis tells his classes about the chess club, he tries to engage them by showing them chess pieces and being positive about the game. Enthusiasm is the key to getting students to join the club, he said.
Full article here.
Fantastic!