Michael Bowden of Lewisville I.S.D. emailed that his district has approved chess as one of the “specials” rotation areas. In elementary school, students rotate to a different special area everyday of the school week. Currently, choices for the five special areas include art, music, creative dramatics, library, Spanish, Science Enrichment, and mandatory PE. For the 2009-2010 academic year and beyond, principals will have the option to have chess as one of the special areas.

According to Mr. Bowden, many librarians want toget out of the specials rotation. Thus, chess might take the library spot on some campuses. In Mr. Bowden’s opinion, five campus principals might add full-time teachers to teach chess in the specials rotation in 2009-2010. After that year, more of the 38 elementary campuses might follow suit. 14 of the elementary campuses already have chess clubs.

This Lewisville I.S.D. news means job opportunities for certified teachers with knowledge of how to teach chess in a classroom setting. Teachers will be equipped with curricula from the Kasparov Chess Foundation. Teachers will have to adapt the Kasparov plans and develop additional chess in education lesson plans to meet their students' needs. My UT TeleCampus online courses instruct teachers on the use of chess to meet educational goals and standards. Registration is open now for the fall semester; classes start August 21st for the 16-week session and October 20th for the 8-week session. Please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.