checkmate, students and third through fifth grades learn some new skills over spring break, including how to play chess.

It's one way Jefferson County Public Schools is working to keep students engaged.

And reading more about this in tonight's Education Matters segment.

It was started as a way to improve access and increase access for students who needed some summer camp enrichment, some learning, some things to do over the summer.

And we thought as JCPs we were responsible for literacy.

Anyway, let's combine literacy with a fun activity to make sure kids are engaged and have something fun to do.

There's a book that has a main character, the subject of the thing they are learning, and they read that and they understand what the character is going through, what the challenges are that the character may experience.

The character may not be experiencing trouble with the activity, they may be experiencing something with their life.

But the thing that's their outlet is, is the chess.

It is the bowling.

It is the hip hop.

During the week, we got to read a book that I'm holding right now.

It's called Soccer Shootout, and it was about this kid named Burke and his friend named Peter, and they had to overcome challenges.

And there was also a new kid named Ryan.

And I thought that was a really cool book.

And then we also got to play a little bit of soccer with our vendor, and the vendor taught us how to dribble with the ball and like, learn how to actually control the ball and actually control the ball and not like, look at the way people and worry about other stuff to actually look at the ball and try to score.

What we did was we learn how to play child's play, compare and contrast, and I first, I didn't know how to play chess, but probably like one I seen yesterday.

I knew how to play a little because I still like at first I didn't know the names at all, so at first I saw either a card, a horse, a castle.

Why would want to know?

And then there's the queen and King, but then, that was on Tuesday.

And then on Wednesday, I knew all the names.

I know what moves they made.

The chess teacher, he taught me more, more skilled about chess and like, more, I don't know, soccer.

I learned about literacy because we had to comprehend this book and we had to like we every time we played soccer, we had to do, we had to, through reflection on how we did in soccer and how we felt about it.

So every day I was writing a good reflection about, the soccer thing, about the thing that we practice with the soccer, and it's just a way to keep the spark going, right?

Like, even though it's just five days, but it's five days that they didn't, that they might not have wanted to engage.

So they got to kind of stay sharp.

They got something to do.

They got out of the house and they got to be a part of something fun.

I really love this week because I am in here and I get I got to still be here and find new friends and be with friends that I didn't know how to really enjoyed this book.

I like to say thank you to my coach cause he helped me a lot.

Then I should thank you to my teacher for making me, brave and proud and believe in myself.

And that's what teachers do, right?

JC students could also sign up to learn tennis, karate, dancing, and even robotics.