The Mission
FwC Community Services Inc. (FwCCS) uses chess training to improve young students’ cognitive skills and reduce rash and impulsive behaviors, which can lead to conflict and even violence. Research has shown the significant positive impact of chess training on reasoning and cognitive skills. Through meta-analysis studies, it has been demonstrated that chess can enhance perception, memory, concentration, and overall cognitive abilities. Improving these skills is especially important for students with short-term memory or mild executive skill deficits.
FwCCS is a 501c3 corporation licensed by Youth Development Systems, Inc., to use the Fun with Chess Learning System®. We deliver quality chess training services to underserved and underprivileged students and communities. (PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE INFORMATION)
The Fun with Chess Learning System®(FwC) is scalable from individual students to entire school districts. The Fun with Chess Learning System also allows students needing more repetition and memory cues to benefit from the improved skills. FwC utilizes innovative features, and our unique patent pending chessboard design makes it easier for all beginners to learn chess. FwC presents video and video content with captions, audio-only, and text-only formats. We understand that students will gravitate to the learning modality that is best suited for them. We are currently in the process of translating all our content formats into Spanish. We understand that students learn better in their native language.
THE PROBLEM
Access to quality education is limited in many areas of the world. Often, curriculums do not develop the critical thinking skills required to compete in an increasingly global and technological economy. Students who have ADHD and other cognitive deficits are sometimes isolated in an environment that can accommodate the deficit rather than strengthening their skills.
THE SOLUTION
Chess training is one of the best mechanisms for developing critical thinking and cognitive skills. FwC developed an effective and affordable training platform with unique features that make learning chess easier for all students (including those with common cognitive deficits). Our system teaches students a sport that will give them a valuable learning advantage. Studies have shown how chess training can dramatically improve a student’s academic performance and have a lifelong impact on their professional success. Countries with the highest math and science aptitude students include chess training in their early grade curriculum.
IMPACT/APPROACH
We take more of an academic approach to chess training. We emphasize the development of cognitive skills. We use short, easily absorbed multilingual and multicultural avatar narrated videos that help students with memory or focus deficits. Our videos are also compressed and run well on smartphones, even with limited bandwidth. We present lesson content in multiple formats to address differences in individual students’ learning styles. The lesson formats include videos with and without multilingual captions. Content is also presented in audio-only and text-only formats, providing multiple formats to accommodate differences in learning styles.
All formats are available in English and are being translated into Spanish. We include an optional multiple-language read-to-me function. This option reads quiz questions and possible answers to students. Students with reading deficits are, therefore, not disadvantaged. Online games include a help function that displays chess piece movement diagrams. This reduces anxieties about having to memorize how different chess pieces move, their symbols, and point values. We also have a patent on a unique chessboard design simulating a 3D presentation. Our chessboard provides more precise information at-a-glance. Chess instructors have verified that our board makes learning chess easier for beginners.
We provide administrative reports with details on student participation and learning progress. The details are available at student, class, school/organization, district, and state levels. Our system includes chess-related math quizzes and questions attached to the appropriate common core math practice standards. Soon, we will be able to measure student improvement by practice standards. We also provide instructor tools that allow professional, volunteer or school staff to use our curriculum, lesson guide, and online resources to teach onsite or virtually.
SCALE
The Fun with Chess Learning System® is built on a relational MySQL database. Scaling up is a matter of improving the server environment. We have run simulations and can currently handle over 5,000 concurrent users.
LEADERS
Ralph Jones, CEO of FwC Community Services, has more than 30 years of management, finance, system design, and system flow analysis experience. He owns Small Business Support Services (SBSS) and is CEO of Youth Development Systems, Inc. (YDS) in Chicago. Jones and his Youth Development Systems team developed the Fun with Chess Learning System. Jones also developed a patent-pending Beginner’s Chessboard; InfoLine, a calling system for schools; a client-server-based Student Tracking and Reporting System (STARS) used in over 25 Chicago public schools; and a standardized test scoring and Illinois learning standards analysis system. He was formerly Assistant Vice President of Accounting and Finance at Security Mutual Casualty Company. He received his formal training in accountancy at Roosevelt University in Chicago, Illinois, where he majored in Business Administration.
Andre S. Dixon, Chief Service Administration Officer, joined SBSS in 2005 as vice president of Support Services and helped form YDS. He applies 35 years of teaching experience to lead efforts to train in-house support personnel as well as to ensure superior customer experiences. Dixon previously held various teaching and administrative positions in the Chicago Public School System. His background in education provided valuable insights into the design of key features of the FwC Learning System and positions him to understand the issues facing students and administrators in today’s educational environment. Dixon was award a Bachelor of and a Master of Science in Biology from Roosevelt University in Chicago. He continued studies of Educational Administration and Supervision at Roosevelt.
Paul Brinson, Advisory Committee Member, is an experienced school administrator and educational consultant. Brinson served as Chief Information Officer and Director of Research and Evaluation with the Evanston-Skokie School District 65. He was also an administrator with the Fort Worth Independent School District, serving as Director of Research, Evaluation, and Assessment, Coordinator of Districtwide Studies, and Evaluation Specialist. He earned a B.S., M.S., and EdD from Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama.