Mr. Hamlin’s 2nd grade reports “Chess really teaches us problem solving!”

Thank you so much for your generous donation to help support the First Move chess program at William Howard Taft Elementary in Boise, Idaho. We have found this program to be extremely beneficial for both our students and our parents.

Over eighty-two percent of the students at W. H. Taft are on free and reduced-priced lunch. At the beginning of the 2008-09 school year W. H. Taft became an ELL site with 55 new students from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Currently Taft has 89 ELL students (26% of the student population). High poverty is just one factor that affects these children’s ability to achieve. Other factors include the fact that many of them move 2-3 times during the school year, that they are being raised in single parents homes, and many of the “new Americans” are not literate in their first language.

Providing children of poverty with creative and challenging social experiences is critical. Their parents do not have the time or the finances to expose their children to extra curricular activities such as chess, dance, gymnastics, swimming, etc. The First Move program provides an avenue for the school to expose our students to a challenging game that requires concentration, cooperation, patience, problem solving and higher level thinking skills. These skills are critical in helping students prepare for career and college.

We expected our students to teach the chess skills to their parents. We felt that this was a wonderful way to engage and encourage our families to interact at home through a challenging game that encourages patience and persistence.

Because the program was so well structure, the teachers felt very positive about the implementation process and the results. Parents become active participants with their students. Students became independent in their ability to play chess and really looked forward to it every Friday.

According to Mr. Hamlin, 2nd grade teacher, his students felt that the program “was awesome and a lot of fun!” “Chess really teaches us problem solving!”

Thank you all for your generous donations!