Brooklyn teacher who built nationally renowned chess team retires after 50 years

CBS News

2 days ago

On the last day of school in New York City, it wasn't just students saying goodbye to the classroom.
At Edward R. Murrow High School in Brooklyn, longtime math teacher Eliot Weiss marked a personal milestone: retiring after five decades of teaching and 44 years leading one of the country's most successful high school chess teams.
"I had the most fun"
Weiss became a legend not only in his calculus classroom, but on the chessboard, where he created and coached Murrow's team to dozens of city, state and national wins.
"We won our first National High School Chess Championship in 1992 in Lexington, Kentucky, and that was the first of eight," Weiss said.
Over the years, his classroom became a launching pad for hundreds of students, both academically and personally. Weiss was also the subject of a 2007 book chronicling the success of his students.
"I had the best students in calculus. I had the best students on the chess team. I had the most fun — it was just so enjoyable," Weiss said.
On Thursday's last day, students and colleagues reflected on his unique impact. Eric Zheng, the current chess team captain, said the joy Weiss took in his students' success was obvious.
"I understand that feeling when you see the person you taught succeed and do great things. And I feel like Mr. Weiss really took passion in that," Zheng said.
"He was more of a life teacher"
Former students like Kseniia B., who still show up to support Weiss at his hockey games, described his influence as life-changing.
"He was more of a life teacher. He showed us how to put a lot of dedication into what you love," she said.
That dedication inspired more than just checkmates. Math teachers Beth Flash and Hayley Mercorio both started out as Weiss's students and now teach at Murrow alongside him.
"Mr. Weiss was such a dynamic teacher that it just made you want to learn ... and I try to do that with my students," Flash said.
"[He] made math so much fun and entertaining, and jokes and playful, and not something that was scary," Mercorio said.
But retirement doesn't mean slowing down for Weiss, who's long balanced his classroom time with passions for skiing, travel and competitive hockey.
"I'll be playing a lot of ice hockey now since I don't have to wake up early in the morning," he told Brooklyn reporter Hannah Kliger.
As the school bell marks the end of the academic year, Weiss dims the lights and walks out of his classroom for the last time. It's a quiet end to a masterful career.
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