"One of the reasons this story is so special … is that
the way this started at Russell was almost a fluke," Guajardo said. "As the
year went by, I saw the benefits of chess in the students."
The small in-class effort soon grew into a small program.
That small program grew into a state powerhouse, bringing home its first
state championship in 1993. Since then, several Brownsville elementary
schools’ programs have taken state titles, including the Morningside
Elementary program, which from the fall of 1996 to the spring of 2001 was
under the direction of Russell Harwood, UTB/TSC’s chess program director.
Similar to Guajardo, Harwood used chess as a motivation
tactic, only teaching his classes to play once they exhibited good behavior.
He took teams to the state tournaments several times, and recalled that it
made Brownsville stand out each time, prompting cheers even from their
competitors.
"It was really cool, because they weren’t just cheering
for one school, they were cheering for all the schools in the community,"
Harwood said.
Many of the students in the chess programs experienced
academic benefits. When Guajardo led the program at Russell Elementary, he
required that students pass the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills Test,
the assessment test at the time. And pass they did.
"Even more unbelievably, every student that was going out
in tournaments was getting exemplary on the TAAS Test," he said.
Along with the documentary, Higher Ground Entertainment
is producing an educational package that will assist teachers in bringing
chess into the classroom. The educational package will include a teacher’s
guide that will supplement the film as well as an interactive Web site that
will have everything from chess lessons to chess history.
"You can pull down an educational component that teachers
can take and use with their kids," producer Ernesto Quintero said. "It’ll be
a full-on interactive Web site that will complement the outreaches we have
planned."
The nonprofit documentary is in the editing stages, said
Danny Haro, executive producer and co-director. In order to complete the
film, about $250,000 more will be needed.
The fundraiser on Thursday will take place at the home of
Texas Southmost College District Trustee Dr. Roberto Robles. UTB/TSC
President Juliet V. García will be in attendance and Guajardo will speak.
Higher Ground Productions aims to produce a feature film
once the documentary is finished.
"I think the feature film will enhance even a bigger outreach for the
documentary as an educational component," Haro said. "We’re excited about
the plan, and I think the people are, too."
