I’mpossible Agreement

HOW DOES OUR SYSTEM WORK?

Every student who registers for our program will receive the appropriate level Puzzle Booklet at some point during session one. Regardless of their level of play or chess experience, generally speaking, our Phase ONE Booklet is what each student will receive at the top of each school year (unless a student decides to test out of Phase ONE or has scored 90% or better in the past). Students who test out or score 90% or better on their Puzzle booklet will advance to the next phase. This is the protocol every year your child is in our program. The “I’Mpossible” Puzzle Booklet series is made up of FIVE Phases encompassed within Three Sections–Love It, Learn It and Live It: Phase ONE and TWO comprise our LOVE IT section of the series. The goal here is to ease our students into our program in a challenging but FUN way, while keeping it simple enough for every child to experience victory over a period of 32 weeks. Phase THREE and FOUR  is our LEARN IT section of the series. By this point the student is well invested in our program. So our goal here is to introduce them to more complex strategies and tactics. Further, we want to make sure your child understands these strategies well enough to teach others. Phase FIVE we call our LIVE IT segment of the series. Our company has always been more interested in nurturing Life Masters than chess masters. So, it is here where our students will begin to learn how to apply the strategies they have learned in chess to their everyday critical decision making.

Again, students are encouraged to work at their own pace. Some students will complete their Puzzle Booklet within 5-8 weeks, others may take 10-20 weeks and still others may take longer. However, to meet our deadline and receive full CREDIT, all students must have their booklets corrected by their parents and all scores must be emailed to contact@chesstutors.org & gmg@chesstutors.org by APRIL (exact date TBD). All late submissions are subject to partial credit of 50%.

TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK

In the spirit of teamwork, we ask our parents to assume the task of grading their child’s booklet. Grading the booklet alongside your child will give you an opportunity to see what they are learning and how well they are coming along. To print out the ANSWER KEY visit: Chesstutors.org/scores.html then email score to contact@chesstutors.org & copy us at gmg@chesstuotors.org.

LEARNING EQUALS EARNING

Diligence has value. To whatever degree your child applies themselves, we will reward them with tangible currency they can use towards prizes of their choice. During the school year, students earn Chess Dollars for class participation, checkmates, good sportsmanship and for offering correct answers in their Puzzle Booklet and to questions in class. Students use the Chess Dollars they earn throughout the year to purchase extra goodies at our end- of-each-session parties and to purchase prizes from our Treasure Chess Store, during our final session. Unfortunately, as upsetting as it can be for a child when they lose any of their Chess Dollars, it is our policy not to replace them unless the student has purchased insurance using some of their Chess Dollars! We do this to instill a sense of responsibility, establish a paradigm of accountability and to encourage forethought. Chess Dollar Insurance is very affordable. Full coverage grants a child FULL REIMBURSEMENT of any Chess Dollars lost during the school year and is only 10 Chess Dollars (which can be earned during one class period or less). Half COVERAGE only cost 5 Chess Dollars and insures HALF the Chess Dollars lost. To receive a reimbursement on lost Chess Dollars, students simply need to bring a signed note from home stating the amount that was lost.

“BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND” – Stephen Covey

Each layer of the child’s understanding is built upon the child’s previous layer of comprehension. By evolving in this way—uninterrupted within our 32 week instructional program—the child’s chess potential is achieved and their competence is more assured. We recommend you encourage your child in this process—particularly during the tough and sometimes unsettling mid-year months where the child may temporarily doubt their abilities and question their interest. Our experience has shown—time and time again—that by the end of spring, the child is totally reignited and vigorously training to win awards and College Scholarship money at our Annual Grand Match Gala held at USC (tentatively scheduled this school year to take place on June 30th, 2018.)