Chess Leads to Success for Two PEP School Students

(From the July 2008 Newsletter)

The following is a story about how one of our volunteers is making a tremendous impact with his efforts as a part of the Chess for Success program at Clark Elementary School. It is a testament to the power in letting someone know that you care about them. This story is written by Joel Todd, the site manager for our SUN Community School program at Clark Elementary.

Trevor and Matt are the first students known in Clark’s history to make it to the state chess tournament. The question is, why are they the first?

Could it be because until now, there has been no child at Clark smart enough to qualify for the state tournament? That is highly unlikely. It is more likely that the students of Clark rarely had the opportunity to have qualified coaching and a regular place to play. Without Ralph Leftwich, SVPP’s volunteer who coaches the students, the support staff who also assist and a system of after school programming that encourages wide participation, the achievement would likely not have happened.

It is not difficult to imagine what some outcomes might be of this achievement. Matt and Trevor will undoubtedly be filled with a sense of accomplishment. Their classmates that burst with excitement at their accomplishment begin to believe that they, too, might be able to achieve as their classmates have. The news spreads and the students at the school begin to challenge themselves. They also begin to make the connection that if they don’t attend school, they can’t participate. They realize classmates, their school community and their families will celebrate their successes. Before long, it’s not that uncommon for a student or two to make it to the tournament, and thus the expectation of high achievement becomes a regular, everyday expectation.

The parents see their student accomplish a fantastic achievement and are proud of him. They feel validated for being good parents and are glad that Trevor and Matt have found something they are so good at doing. They know the school sees their children are special, unique and to be valued. The parents are more willing to work with the school because they’ve seen the opportunities provided to their sons.