Chess teacher honored

Jack Weeks knows how to achieve ultimate goals. He's done it forever - placing his chess opponent in check. Now, he's passing his expertise on, teaching Sisters elementary and middle school students how to do the very same thing.

At their February 12 meeting, Sisters School Board Chairman Mike Gould on behalf of the entire board recognized Weeks with a Certificate of Appreciation for the chess program he has initiated in Sisters schools.

The certificate reads: "Thank you for opening the world of chess to the children of Sisters. Your gift of time spent teaching and playing with our students is greatly appreciated."

Not only does the school board appreciate all that Weeks is doing, but the students do also.

"Thank you Mr. Weeks ... for spending so much of your time and energy to help us...," said fourth grader Riley Warburton.

"Mr. Weeks is a good guy. ... And trust me, you don't ever want to challenge him to a chess match - ever," said Anders Swenson. "He gave ... each of us our very own chess set. Now, that's a good gift. He's great at helping us learn to play chess."

Weeks was quick to point out that he was not alone in giving a chess set to every fourth grader this past Christmas. Mackenzie Creek Trading Co., The Garden of Eden, parent Cheryl Stewart and the school's parent organization all donated funds to the project.

About the help from others Weeks said: "It was unsolicited. That's what is really incredible about this community."

Nick Chappell summed up the impact Weeks is having on the students.

"Mr. Weeks, this has been one super year. Our chess teacher is the best of them all. I look forward to chess in middle school," he said.

As a new community member, Weeks approached elementary school principal Jan Silberman last year to start a chess program. With Silberman's backing the teachers were approached to see if they would give up the necessary time from their regular classroom activities.

"Virtually every one of them did. In fact, I was only going to do the fifth graders, and then the fourth grade teachers asked for this program also," Weeks said.

According to board chairman Gould the program has become so successful that there is a waiting list for students who want to participate.

"My son, a fifth grader, was involved in the program initially. There was a schedule conflict with a philanthropic organization he wanted to be involved in, so he stepped aside. That organization changed its meeting day, and he tried to get back involved in chess, and his seat had been filled many times over. The lines are around the block from the people who want to learn chess," Gould said.

Because last year's fourth and fifth graders are all at the middle school this year, Weeks has filtered the program into the middle school. He conducts his class on Late Start Wednesdays, prior to the start of the regular school day. Often, as many as 40 students participate.

Then, on Thursdays and Fridays he works with each of the four fourth grade classes at the elementary school.

"Our first mission is to just teach the very basics - how the pieces move, how they work together," Weeks said.

He uses games to teach about the various pieces and the rules.

"A lot of it is un-teaching. They've had grandparents and parents and friends and relatives who have taught some of those kids, but they haven't taught them correctly," Weeks explained.

According to Weeks, all of the students now know the rules correctly and are starting to learn basic strategies. Weeks gives a 15-minute lesson at the beginning of each class. Then, his students play.

"I visit each game at least three times to comment, and those comments will always be positive to every kid there. What we're really doing is teaching problem solving and decision making - and patience," Weeks said.

Because of Weeks, "now we have a number of tremendous, strategic thinkers. Kids who are learning about math and all kinds of other things strategically oriented that come with chess," Gould said.

When Weeks started the program at the elementary school last year, the district had no equipment. Weeks submitted an application to the Sisters Schools Foundation, and the foundation responded with the funding for 20 chess sets and the demonstration board that Weeks uses.

A wealth of resource material is available that quantifies the benefits chess provides to elementary students. Research demonstrates that students who play chess both read better and do better at math as measured by standardized achievement tests.