Teaching Moms Chess

ESL CLASS HOPES TO HANG ON
Program’s funding up for renewal
By CLAUDIA MELÉNDEZ SALINAS
Herald Salinas Bureau
Monterey County Herald
Article Last Updated:07/13/2007 08:29:26 AM PDT

…About 10 women attend Lorena Cassidy’s summer class. As part of the instruction, Cassidy teaches the women how to play chess. Research has shown that children who play chess do better in school and have less problems with discipline, Cassidy said. If the mothers know how to play the game, they’ll teach it to their children.

Arturo Salgado, a 13-year-old student at El Sausal Middle School, helps Cassidy teach chess during the class. He has played for two years and enjoys being part of the morning sessions.

“I teach how to read, how to translate, how to play,” he said. “I get to feel like a teacher.”

Salinas’ four largest school districts — Salinas Union High, Alisal Union, Santa Rita and Salinas Elementary — receive almost $450,000 for the program, Muller said. Last year, the statewide CBET served more than 1.5 million students, at a cost of about $31 per student.

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