August 19th, Vadnais Heights “Chess in the Park” Tournament Registration

The Chess & Strategy Game Association, CSGA Enrichment, was founded in 2014 by Executive Director Bill Nara, a former high school teacher, who saw a great need for before and after school programs and summer programming for students in K-12.

As a youth, Bill participated in programs based on his personal interests and found these programs were no longer offered to students. He began CSGA programming with chess and strategy games with 5 students in one school district.  As the program grew, CSGA brought on Associate Executive Director Jason Lavine, and expanded CSGA into more school districts.

It became apparent that additional programs beyond chess and strategy games were needed to meet the needs and interests of students. STEM programs including coding, 3D printing, robotics, and rocket building, and cultural and arts classes including cooking, young writers workshop, rock band, and Improv, and specific interest programs such as crafting, knitting, and fishing were added. 

More recently, online program options have been introduced for chess players and students interested in personal finance and the stock market. CSGA wants students engaged in self motivated activities that could lead to entrepreneurship. CSGA is currently operating in over 11 school districts reaching over 1,200 students.