Chess in Christian Schools Foundation

Chess in Christian Schools Foundation (CICSF) raises money to provide funding for chess programs in Christian schools in the Houston, Texas area, and to implement and monitor the consequent programs.  Priority is given to schools that serve low-income areas (Title One schools).

The goal is to provide every student in a Christian school the opportunity to learn to play chess, and to advance and compete at the highest level determined by the student’s capability.

The concept for CICSF grew out of Jim Marcely's experiences coaching the chess team at St. Peter the Apostle School in Houston, TX.  Being recently retired, he volunteered to teach chess after school to St. Peter the Apostle students in January 2006.  It wasn’t long before a chess team was formed around the stronger players which led to team-on-team competition against other schools.  In 2008 they began to play in open competition United States Chess Federation (USCF) sponsored scholastic tournaments throughout the Houston area. Since that time, the chess program has grown and prospered as shown by the number of players, the number of personal and team trophies won, and the increasing average USCF rating of its players.

St. Peter the Apostle School Chess Team

Key Data                                        

               School            Team             Team         Individual          Average

                Year           Members      Trophies        Trophies       USCF Rating

              2006-07               3                     0                      0                      n/a

              2007-08               5                     0                      1                      400

              2008-09              10                    3                      5                      457

              2009-10              16                    7                     28                     542

              2010-11              19                    6                     36                     592

              2011-12              17                   10                    48                     636

              2012-13              20                   12                    49                     696

              2013-14              20                   13                    51                     732

              2014-15              19                    10                    45                     667

Since 2010 St. Peter the Apostle has won ten team trophies at the Texas State

Scholastic Championship Tournaments, ranging from first place to fifth place.  In 2013 our seventh graders won the Texas Scholastic Championship for that grade, and our fifth graders finished third best in the state.  St. Peter the Apostle is also the current Houston-Galveston Catholic School Chess League champion.

This remarkable success has been accomplished by a very small inner-city parochial school (less than 100 students).  The student body is currently 95% African American and 5% Hispanic.  The competition has included well-established and funded chess programs at much larger Houston area schools;  chess powerhouses such as The Village School,[1]  T.H. Rogers School,[2] and Aldine Middle School.[3]   The accomplishments of the team are all the more astonishing because of the small enrollment at St. Peter’s in comparison to its rivals.  Chess is an important component in the continued viability of this inner city Catholic school.

Parents make financial sacrifices to send their children to St. Peter’s.  Tuition is as low as $3,000 per student, depending on family income.  The school makes every effort to keep tuition to the minimum necessary for the quality education that parents expect and their children deserve.  The chess program has had no adverse effect on the school’s costs. I was an unpaid volunteer and bore all the expenses of the team.  The only costs for parents have been tournament entry fees for their players.  When certain parents couldn’t afford a tournament, I covered it.

I decided to retire at the end of the 2014-15 school year due to progressive hearing loss and arthritis.  I have not been able to find a person from the parish or the adult chess community to continue the program without pay and cost to the school. The person should have a combination of skills; chess proficiency, teaching experience, and a passion and commitment to continue the program at a competitive level.

Most schools in the Houston metropolitan area do not have chess programs.  Offering chess requires an interested adult (teacher, parent and/or volunteer) willing to teach the game and supervise play.  A fair number of schools offer chess as a club activity after school because they have such an interested adult.  A smaller number of schools compete in tournaments as teams.  Competing in scholastic tournaments requires at least one adult who has passion for the game, a conviction that chess advances players’ intellectual and emotional development, and a commitment to improving the chess skills of the players to a competitive level.

What happens when that passionate and committed teacher, parent or volunteer is no longer available?  The chess program dies, or regresses to an after-school time-killing activity while students wait for their rides home.  Following is a list of fifteen Houston area schools that, over the past twelve years, had strong and competitive chess programs that ended after the departure of the key person:  Almeda ES, Cypress Creek HS, DeZavala ES, Jane Long MS, the John Cooper School in the Woodlands, Lanier MS (four-time state champion), North Shore HS, the John Cooper School in the Woodlands, Olle MS, Pin Oak MS, the Rice School, Sharpstown MS, St. Ann’s School (Tomball), Valley West ES, and Westbrook Intermediate School.[4]

Mr. Marcely was determined to see that competitive chess would not fade away at St. Peter the Apostle school with my withdrawal from active coaching. He was able to get a volunteer, Mr. Clarence Brooks, to manage the team.  However, he is not a chess player.  However, there were excellent chess tutors in the Houston area who would coach a team for a fee.  Hence, we conceived of the idea of getting donations to pay the expenses that Mr. Marcely had been carrying, plus the costs of professional chess coaching. 

For the past three years, Mr. Marcely served as  the Coordinator of the Catholic School Chess Championship Tournament for the Arch-Diocese of Galveston-Houston.  In the first tournament, only five schools participated.  Last year eleven schools competed.

To encourage schools to play,  all 65 Catholic schools in the Arch-Diocese were contacted.  All expressed an interest in having chess at their schools, but most did not have a person (teacher, parent or parishioner) willing or available to be the volunteer coach/manager, nor did they have the money to pay for coaching/tutoring and for the other expenses involved.  Other non-Catholic Christian schools that want chess programs at various levels of activity, but have no funding for that purpose.

The advice of a professional fundraiser was sought.  He recommended that a non-profit corporation be formed to raise money to establish competitive chess in Christian schools.  My initial impetus, of course, was to sustain the remarkable record of competitive chess prowess at St. Peter the Apostle, but we also recognized a need in other Christian schools for the academic and life-skills benefits of chess, particularly for those in low income areas.

We are a non-profit corporation registered with the State of Texas.  Contributions to CICSF have been determined by the Internal Revenue Service to be tax deductible in accordance with IRS Code, Section 501(c)(3

Paying the bills.

Thus far CICSF Directors have borne the start up costs of the Corporation.  Our intent is for as high a percentage as possible of contributions to be used in direct support of chess programs in Christian schools.  We intend to solicit contributions from government entities, wealthy Houstonians and their foundations, and the general public through social media.  Our Activity Log records our fundraising initiatives, support commitments to schools, and the progress of chess programs at the schools.

 Finding the Schools

Our search indicates that there are at least 120 Christian Schools in the Houston area.  Before we became certified by the IRS, we contacted 60 Christian schools in the Houston area and found sixteen schools that would like to have a chess program, but had no money in their budget to support one.  Ten had a chess club, but no funds available to form a competitive team to compete in tournaments.  Nine had chess teams which had reached the point at which their players were not improving, because the limited chess prowess of their coach/team manager.  Their stronger players require tutoring in chess tactics and strategy from professional chess tutors.  As we raise funds we will approach Christian school principals, inform them that we have money to support chess in their schools, and discuss/negotiate with them the terms and conditions of CICSF support. 

 Finding Coaches and Tutors

We have canvassed the chess-playing community in the Houston area for candidate coaches and tutors who are willing to participate in the CICSF program.  We currently have thirty-eight experienced chess tutors who have indicated a willingness to participate.

 Supporting a School

A school that receives CICSF support will be given chess sets, demonstration boards, access to on-line chess instruction and other instructional materials, and provided with a chess tutor in its first school year (Phase 1 program).  The school must provide a quiet location where students can learn how to play and to improve their chess skills.  The location must be separate from other rooms where students may be waiting for rides home, or conducting other activities.  There must be an adult Team Manager (teacher, parent or other responsible adult) from the school to maintain good order and class discipline. The Team Manager will be accountable to the school administration and the CICSF for team matters.  The tutor will be paid directly by CICSF for each tutoring session.  The tutor will report directly to CICSF on the overall progress of the chess program (number of participants and skill progress) and playing conditions at the school.  CICSF will consult with of the School Principal and the Chess Team Manager on the suitability of their assigned tutor, and on any other needs the school’s chess program will have.

Provided the Phase 1 year proceeds acceptably, CICSF support to the school would be increased the second year (Phase 2) to cover the costs of forming a school chess team composed of the stronger players that the tutor thinks will be competitive at the novice level and above in interscholastic tournaments. The chess team would be required to participate in at least four interscholastic tournaments during the school year. The CICSF will pay for additional tutoring for the team, perhaps a stipend for the team manager, team shirts, internal trophies, plaques and other team costs.

 Our Board of Directors

At present the Chess in Christian Schools Foundation has three board members

James Marcely is the CICSF founder, a Director and President.  He is a retired U. S. Navy Commander, who subsequently worked as a Department of Defense contractor, retiring a second time as Director of Colorado Operations for Betac Corporation.  In retirement in Houston he has served as a Director and Treasurer of the University Oaks Civic Association. For the past ten years he has coached chess as an unpaid volunteer at St. Peter the Apostle School, a small inner-city parochial school in Houston’s traditionally African-American Third Ward.  From that experience, he is very knowledgeable in what is required to establish and maintain successful scholastic chess programs in the Houston area.  In addition to his duties described in the corporate by-laws, Mr. Marcely will:

• Find and solicit potential donors, foundations government entities, and public contributors to commit funds to the CICSF,
• Publicize the CICSF program and funding availability to principals of Christian schools,
• Negotiate terms and conditions of CICSF support with principals,
• Arrange funding which will pay independent chess tutors and defray other chess program costs, and
• Submit school-by-school reports to donors on the effectiveness of CICSF support.

Clarence Brooks is a Director and CICSF Treasurer.  He is a Certified Fraud Examiner and retired from a seventeen-year career as a Forensic/Investigative Accountant for the U.S Department of Justice, U. S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Texas.  He has a B.B.A degree in Accounting and owns a tax advisory business.  He is an Enrolled Agent certified by the IRS as a Tax Professional.  He is the current Co-President and Treasurer of the St. Peter the Apostle School Board and leads the Finance Committee for the St. Peter the Apostle Church.  He is also the manager of the St. Peter the Apostle School chess team.  In addition to discharging his responsibilities as a Director and Treasurer in accordance with the CICSF bylaws, he will:

•  Control, dispense and maintain records for grant funds,
• Submit school-by-school financial reports to donors, and
• Ensure that CICSF is in compliance with IRS regulations.

Dr. Douglas A. Erwing is a Director and Vice President.  He is an Adjunct Professor of History at the University of Houston, a real estate attorney, a Board Member of the Houston Midtown Redevelopment Authority, former owner of a real estate title company, and former President of the University Oaks Civic Association.  In addition to discharging his responsibilities as a Director and Vice President in accordance with the CICSF bylaws, he will maintain current knowledge of CICSF initiatives to raise funds, and the progress of school-by-school grants.  He will ensure that CICSF is in compliance with Federal and State of Texas non-profit corporate regulations. His most important function will be to step in and act as President if the President is absent or incapacitated.

As the Chess in Christian Schools Foundation grows, we will add additional Board members and officers as appropriate and in accordance with the CICSF bylaws.

James A. Marcely
President
Chess in Christian Schools Foundation

[1] The Village School is a private school in northwest Houston emphasizing math and science education.  The school caters to international families with the current 600+ student body representing 40 nations.  Tuition ranges for $17,121 to $22,300 per year.  The school charges $300 extra per student for chess participation.  More than 100 students are involved in the chess program.

[2] T.H. Rogers School is a Houston Independent School District (ISD) magnet school for the gifted and talented located near the Galleria. Current enrollment is 660 with 113 students involved in the chess program.  Over 60 are on the chess team.

[3]Aldine Middle School, located in the northeast Houston area, has a very strong chess program.  Its expenses are funded by the Aldine ISD.  Out of a student body of925, eighty-one students are involved in the chess club with 40 who play competitively in tournaments.  The student body is 80% Hispanic, 15% African American, and 5% other.

[4] Information provided by James Liptrap who has been the most active organizer and director of Houston area scholastic tournaments for the past twelve years.