Dear Clark-Shaw Magnet School Parents

Dear Clark-Shaw Magnet School Parents,

Congratulations! Your child was chosen during a chess tryout to be part of a Chess class and team for 2016-2017. You may have been wondering, what’s all this talk about my child playing chess? Isn’t that just a game? The answer is yes and no! Chess is certainly a game, but chess is a game that requires critical thinking skills and meets many of the College and Career Ready Standards goals including 21st Century Skills needed for your child’s future. Playing chess also uses strategies and thinking skills necessary to succeed in math (the chessboard can be used as a wonderful tool for learning algebra and mathematical computations) and the promotion of literacy in any subject area.

Your child is lucky! Clark-Shaw Magnet School is one of five schools in the Mobile County Public Schools System, and one group of only a few selected across Alabama to participate in an exciting study called the Alabama Chess in Schools Initiative (ACIS).

The ACIS is a 3-5 year longitudinal study which hopes to support the idea that chess will have a positive influence on your child’s academic performance, as well as other life skills necessary for success beyond the classroom walls. According to the promoters and researchers of this study, “the vision of the ACIS Initiative is to create a learning environment promoting chess as an agent that enables students to think critically, take intellectual risks, and strengthen 21st Century Skills1 necessary to achieve success as lifelong learners in a global society” (Nash et al, 2013)2.

Here at CSMS, chess will be taught and integrated through different grade levels. Mr. Rick Boone is the coach and the liaison for Clark-Shaw with the Alabama Chess in Schools. Chess will actually be taught in the 7th and 8th grade and have interactive lessons in the 6th grade. Through pre- and post-assessments, the objective is to show increased academic literacy, and demonstrate improved critical thinking skills across curriculum compared to control groups assessed in other schools. Those are the study specifics, but there is a larger goal here!

1 21st century skills are identified as problem solving, creativity, persistence, strategic thinking, forecasting, time management, attention to detail, focus, decision making, and impulse control.

2 Nash, Jerry, Ciamarra, Michael, & Dietsch, Neil. “Alabama Chess in School Initiative: Proposal.” USCF. 31 Oct. 2013. Print. It is the aspiration to create a community in which chess becomes an integral part. The school will be holding chess competitions and a parent’s night. We want all of our students, parents, and stakeholders to be a part of this ambitious goal.

There is a $30.00 fee to be on our Chess Team for the following expenses: $10.00 fee to join the Alabama Chess Federation, plus a $20.00 fee for a team t-shirt and assorted expenses for equipment or tournament fees.

We look forward to a great season of learning chess!

Respectfully,

Rick Boone Chess Lead, ACIS Visual Arts Teacher Clark-Shaw Magnet School 251.221.2106 [email protected]

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Please sign, detach and return to Mr. Boone

I look forward to my child participating and learning in the chess team. I fully support the program and am willing to volunteer when I can. I have enclosed the fees for the program. (If by check, please place two contact numbers on the front).

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