The School Program teaches chess in approximately 48 elementary and middle schools annually in New York City public schools. The schools participating in the program are primarily schools that receive Title I Funding. Each school participating in the School Program is assigned a Chess in the Schools trained instructor. In each participating school, the School Program generally has two components: classroom instruction and an after-school chess club. In the program year 2024-2025, we will teach a total of approximately 6,000 elementary and junior high school students chess.

Chess In The Schools from EdLab Studios on Vimeo.

Interested in having your school participate in the School Program? Apply to be on the Chess in the Schools Wait-list.

Summer chess programs offer students a fun and rewarding opportunity to learn and play or to improve their game. Chess in the Schools offers programs in schools and community-based organization sites, helping to provide a safe, enjoyable, and educational activity for children around the city. Chess in the Schools also partners with Camp Ramapo in Rhinebeck, New York – a summer camp for disadvantaged New York City children with special needs. More than 1,000 children learn chess through our summer programs.

This past summer, Chess in the Schools hosted a special 4-week online chess camp using Zoom. We also hosted live summer chess camps through the summer rise initiative.

Photo Credit: Erik Bardin

For low-income high school students, College Bound provides college readiness, career exploration, and advanced chess learning. Over 100 students participate each year, coming to our classrooms from all 5 NYC boroughs.  Students also have the opportunity to participate in community service projects, go on cultural excursions, and work at our tournaments as Assistant Tournament Directors.  We provide test prep and college application advising. We offer college and career fairs, as well as college visits. We are proud that 100% of our alumni have graduated from high school and 95% matriculated to college.

For questions or to receive a College Bound application, click the link below to send an email to our College Bound Program.

Photo Credit: Erik Barden

The Teacher Training Institute (TTI) is a program to teach New York City public school educators to implement a chess program at their school.  To date, we have taught over 2,000 teachers, thanks to funding from the New York City Council. Teachers receive a free, one-day workshop including training, and additional digital resources. It is not necessary to know chess to take the Level 1 workshop. The Level 2 workshop is for teachers who have previously taken the Level 1 training and are interested in more advanced topics. Workshops are currently scheduled to be held via Zoom. With that said, in person events are possible.

Level 1 Workshops

• Saturday, September 7th, 10:00 AM -12:00 PM -Complete
• Saturday, September 21st, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM – Complete
• Saturday, October 19th, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM – Complete
  
• Saturday, November 23rd, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM – Flier  – Registration Form

Level 2 Workshops

• Saturday, December 14th, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM – Flier – Registration Form

Digital Chess Education for Students and Teachers
Chess in the Schools provides digital chess training to schools free of charge. All students in this program receive a free one-year gold membership to Chesskid.com, an online chess learning platform with lessons, videos, puzzles, and chess games.

CIS provides teacher support and coaching through in person and remote professional developments. Teachers are trained to assist and show their students how to use Chesskid.com. CIS also provides chess sets to schools in our program for students to play chess over the board. All students are invited to free CIS-run citywide tournaments once they are ready to compete at a larger scale.