Chicago City Wire

The Illinois Policy Institute community raised $5,500 to support the students on the Earle STEM Academy chess team, and the players paid it back by grabbing three trophies at the U.S. Chess Federation SuperNationals in Nashville, Tennessee, recently.

The team was the top lllinois team in its division, claiming 21st place. In addition, the group's youngest player, third-grader Taahir Levi, earned first place in divisional blitz play, and Tamya Fultz, an eighth-grader nicknamed Englewood’s "Chess Queen of the South," grabbed a No. 20 ranking.

Under the guidance of teacher and coach Joe Ocol, the Earle STEM Academy team has been defying the expectations all too often foisted upon students from Englewood, where the academy is located. Ocol has mentored the team for more than 10 years, during which time his students have made a name for the school at major tournaments, with some of them earning college scholarships based on their play and the 2016 team meeting former President Barack Obama.

The institute took on the fundraising drive to cover the team’s expenses for the tournament, including registration, lodging and meals, in honor of Ocol’s dedication to his students. In a celebration of Teacher Appreciation Week, the institute and its community exceeded its goal of $5,000 within 24 hours. Senior writer Austin Berg characterized the effort as a way to show Ocol and teachers like him how much they mean to Englewood, Chicago and the state.

“I always ask them: ‘Who is the king in your life?’" Ocol said. "The king in your life is you. So they see themselves as kings instead of pawns.”

According to the institute, the chess team's practices often include dinner, paid out of pocket by Ocol, as some of his students might not have the meal otherwise. He also runs a summer chess camp, keeping the children engaged and safe during the typical spike of violence that accompanies summers in the Englewood community.

Ocol has been a tireless supporter and promoter of his pupils, and his previous trip to the SuperNationals tournament four years ago resulted in one of his students winning first place and going on to attend Whitney Young Magnet High School. She will graduate from the University of Illinois-Chicago in the fall, where she earned a scholarship.

As for this year's group, the seventh-grader Fultz won first place in individual chess at the Chicago Public School’s Academic Chess South Conference Playoffs. According to DNAinfo, she also took third place in the 2017 IESA State Chess Finals in Peoria. She was the only CPS student to place at the tournament, as well as the only girl and only African-American medal winner. 

“If there are enough funds, it will be great to see her and her teammates compete in [what’s] considered the Olympics for elementary and high school chess and the largest chess tournament in the world,” Ocol told DNAinfo before the fundraising drive made the trip possible.