| Name | Stephen |
|---|---|
| Last Name | Brady |
| Home Address | 5413 Country Village Drive Ooltewah, TN 37363 United States |
| Organization Name | Children's Chess Foundation |
| Describe Your Role In The Organization | I am the founder and owner. I also am the head instructor, privately teaching chess for the past 10 years. We offer classroom instruction and individual lessons. I also enjoy volunteering in the Chattanooga urban communities. The instruction setting has varied based on the individual situation, from 1 on 1 in person, small groups, full classes in the school curriculum and after school, to online classes. My students have won multiple awards at the regional, state, and even national level of scholastic chess. |
| Organization Address | 5413 Country Village Drive Ooltewah, Tennessee 37363 United States |
| Website | |
| Best Phone Number To Reach You | 4233203730 |
| Alternate Phone Number | |
| Email Address | zmy214@mocs.utc.edu |
| Alternate Email Address | zmy214@mocs.utc.edu |
| Please Describe Your Project In Detail | The goal of the project is to show that chess in schools will benefit economically disadvantaged kids at schools with low performance rates by increasing academic achievement on standardized testing. The program would be taught during the day as a part of the curriculum. Chess class has a proven success rate in academic improvement in other communities where it has been incorporated into the schools (research available for review). Below are the schools In Chattanooga where I would like to start a pilot program, along with their current academic achievement "success rate" from the state. East Lake Elementary: < 10% Success Rate currently Bess T Shepherd: <15% Success Rate currently Orchard Knob Middle School: <6% Success Rate currently (https://reportcard.tnedu.gov/schools/330-200/achievement) The program should be monitored by the city, by the county and ideally by the university to analyze the results after the 2-year pilot program. |
| Please explain how your project meets the requirements of the American Rescue Plan | Kids have been hit very hard in the pandemic in Chattanooga. Not because they are getting directly sick from COVID. The consequences are just as bad, and will be felt for many years. The amount of in-school time has terribly impacted the social and educational growth of our children. It is evident that the impact will be felt more in the poorer Chattanooga communities than the wealthy areas, due to lack of resources, internet, tutors, etc. Many kids in low income communities already may not feel they can compete intellectually with peers in private schools. My hope for the Chattanooga community is that through chess instruction, when I teach these kids to succeed in an intellectual endeavor like chess, it will open up other educational and career opportunities they may not have even previously considered as an option. Through chess in struggling schools, I hope to help bridge the large COVID gap and help these kids be successful. |
| Where would your project take place? | East Lake Elementary, Bess T Shepherd, and Orchard Knob Middle School |
| How much will your project cost in total? | 200000 |
| Do you have any matching funding sources from other local governments, private entities, non-profits, or philanthropic entities for your project? | Yes |
| Please describe the source and list amounts of any other funding. | Will work with community to raise a portion (10%) of the cost through private donations and the ongoing tutoring I already have. |
| What portion of the project are you asking the city to fund? | I ask for full funding, but as stated above, will seek community involvement and buy-in, fundraisers, etc |
| If funded, when would your project start? | August 1, 2022 |
| How long would your project take to complete? | 2 year pilot |
| What milestones would you use to measure your project’s progress? | State standardized math test scores for the participants in the program. Results for the kids prior to chess, at the end of Year 1, and at the end of the pilot program Year 2. |
| How would you ensure accountability and transparency throughout the project lifecycle? | The program will be through the City of Chattanooga, HCDE, and the 3 schools. I will work to meet the County requirements for educators and for programs in their schools. The City, school and county administration will have oversite to ensure that the kids are engaged, and they may their normal teacher in the classroom whenever they wish. |
| If successful, how would your project benefit the community? | Kids who participate in the pilot program at the three low performing schools will show obvious improvement in their math scores, and hopefully other test areas as well. This improvement could have long term improvement in test scores and outcomes for those children. |
| How will you attract community buy-in for your project? | The community has already bought in to chess in schools. Programs have worked at Brainerd Baptist Elementary (curriculum during the school day), Bright School (afterschool), East Lake Elementary (after school), Chattanooga Preparatory School (by others), Baylor School (by others), McCallie School (by others). As you can see, most of these programs are run at successful private schools and communities. My curriculum has produced results in the scholastic Regional chess tournament with multiple 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishes. I have had individual students place in national competitions as well at the elementary, middle and high school levels. The program will need to be marketed to the public at large, and to the parents of the children in the particular schools. |
| Name | Stephen Brady |
| Contact Information | 423-320-3730 |
| Is there anything else you would like us to know about your project? | "I've said repeatedly that education is the single most important long-term strategic issue that Chattanooga is facing. And while the city may not technically be in the school business anymore, we must be invested in an education system that works for every child from cradle to career. As I've said many times, schools in the city are, as far as I'm concerned, city schools." - Mayor Kelly |