With school out for the summer, some El Paso-area school districts are offering programs designed to keep children engaged with fun, educational opportunities, including a chess camp held each year at Reyes Elementary School.

“So this is a chess camp that we do every year here at Reyes Elementary,” one organizer said. The camp is aimed at getting kids away from screens while helping them build social and thinking skills. “It’s just a great camp, gets kids off of their devices, allows kids to meet one another, make friends,” the organizer said. “Most importantly, they’re able to learn some life skills, critical thinking, decision making.”

Organizers said the camp is about more than learning the rules of the game. “This camp at Reyes Elementary where kids are not just learning chess, but they’re learning how to work with one another,” the organizer said. “They’re learning a new skill.” The organizer added that students are also learning persistence. “They’re learning how to stay involved and determined and pursue their goals until they achieve them.”

Students at the camp said chess helps them think and focus. “I love chess because it helps my brain and it makes me think a lot and it, I feel like it helps develop my brain a lot and I like that,” one student said.

Another student said the camp offers a chance to connect in person. “It gives me like a nice feeling of how in the world of everyone’s other devices, like it’s more connected and there’s a lot of nice people here, so it’s fun to make friends,” the student said.

Summer break programs keep El Paso students learning, with Reyes Elementary chess camp (credit: KFOX14/CBS4)

Kids also described enjoying the strategy involved in the game. “I like to try to do strategy, so like I would like to like move one piece to there, to another spot to like try to take out, make checkmate, I like strategy,” a student said. Another student said, “There are benefits with digital, but hands on gives you like a more face to face experience and lets you, it lets you like interact with your opponent more and figure out who they are.”

Organizers said that hands-on experience is part of why the camp was created. “The reason I wanted this camp in the first place is because it gets them out of the house, gets them off the screens and it teaches them a very important lesson of chess, life, strategy, which I appreciate and they’re gonna enjoy this when they grow up,” one organizer said.

Students said they believe the lessons will carry beyond the summer. “I feel like chess would help me a lot in the later years ’cause it helps me, it helps me improve my brain,” one student said. Another added, “Chess camp’s been really fun and I’ve learned a lot about it.” The student said chess also builds character: “So like it teaches me how to be more disciplined and it teaches me about integrity.”

One organizer said the camp reflects positively on the community. “Just makes me super proud of El Paso,” the organizer said, pointing to “these kids and the great people who are putting this camp on.”

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