The Chess Tutors Program, established in Los Angeles area school systems, serves at-risk youth from K-8 grades; helping them achieve academic success through tutoring as well as societal success through mentoring in areas such as self-esteem, self-control, self-discipline and teamwork. The aim of this program is to empower children to lead productive lives in their communities through education, caring volunteers, and a nurturing environment.

Research indicates that students, who are successful academically, in addition to having supportive parents and teachers, usually have sustained access to other knowledgeable and caring adults (The Role of Parents in Ensuring Education Success in School Restructuring Efforts – Clarke, 1989).

In the tutorial portion of the Chess Tutors Program, mentors’ work together with participants to provide extra instructional help in areas where improvement is needed. The mentors’ role is to help the participants raise their grades while also improving their attitude and increasing their self-confidence and pride in achievement.

An important component of the Chess Tutor program focuses on helping students recognize the importance of school, and assists in developing techniques that allow students to achieve greater academic success in their classes.

The idea for developing Chess Test Tutors came as a result of two highly successful school programs: Chess Tutors and LearnStar. Chess Tutors, a division of People Making Progress, is a 501©3 non-profit organization solely dedicated to students’ development of life skills and academic success. We became affiliated with the United States Chess Federation in 2003 and use chess as a vehicle to capture students’ interest in learning.

Students apply the learned concentration methods to master the principles needed to be excellent in solving mathematics equations, grasping English concepts and addressing daily life . Students who have participated in chess programs have shown dramatic improvement in their standardized test scores. Many have raised their test scores by over 20%.{Source- Chess in Education Research Summary, Dr. Robert Ferguson Jr., ACS}

Our tutors have been featured in the LA Times, Daily Breeze newspapers, KVEA Channel 20 and on local KCBS news because of the way we have motivated and capivated the attention of students.

LearnStar, Inc. is a leading developer of interactive, standards-based education software for K-12 schools in the United States. Our company’s product, also known as LearnStar, is a standards-based solution for improving test scores, increasing knowledge retention and promoting critical-thinking skills. The academic competitions, quizzes, polling, testing, and performance assessment tools provide whole-class and small group activities that help increase test scores while making learning fun. LearnStar fulfills the vision of uniting technology with education by bringing truly interactive activities to the students using kid-tough 900mHz RF keypads, unique wireless devised that can be transported from room to room or building to building and set up in minutes – no existing network is needed.

LearnStar has been proven successful in a number of after school programs, including Fairfax, Virginia and Charlotte, North Carolina. Test scores of students using LearnStar have increased as much as 30%. Recognized by Intel Corporation, the Computer world Honors Program 2002, Technology & Learning Award of Excellence 2003, Media and Methods 2003 AWARDS portfolio, and most recently, eSchoolNews, for award winning instructional and assessment software, LearnStar is being used in hundreds of schools nationwide.

Chess Tutors and LearnStar have partnered to form, a comprehensive, proven supplemental service solution that not only raises test scores but also enhances academic performance and makes learning fun in the process.

Students will access LearnStar content via the exciting, motivating interactive technology provided with the wireless keypads. Content is directly aligned to California standards to further the students’ instructional day. Whether in large or small groups, using LearnStar will not only positively impact achievement levels but will also provide opportunities for teamwork, cooperative learning and academic competition in a safe environment.

Our LearnStar has a unique scoring application that motivates students. Students can log in using an anonymous name to ensure privacy on the scoreboard. Associative clues during the competition countdown keeps students on task by confirming that their answer is correct or coaching them toward the right answer. The clues dramatically reduce frustration. The LearnStar scoreboard galvanizes the classroom, providing instant feedback on performance in a fun, non-threatening way.

And the fun doesn’t stop with LearnStar! Using chess as a vehicle to capture students’ interest in learning, students gain mental discipline, problem solving and critical thinking skills. The highly effective and well-trained tutors utilize a well-developed proven curriculum for students of all grade levels. The program is presented using small understandable pieces, which motivates students to use their mental disipline skills.

As students apply the principles of chess they are building memory adequacy, increasing concentration ability and developing reading comprehension skills – all keys to academic success.

Not only will academic skills be assessed using the LearnStar system the chess skills are assessed using LearnStar. Chess Tutors provides a unique comprehensive, skills-based program that is motivating and proven.