The All Means All School-to-Work Project was a federally funded, 3-year collaborative effort between the Institute on Community Integration and the Minnesota Department of Children, Families & Learning. The project was dedicated to finding out what works for all learners when it comes to access, benefit, participation, and choice within school-to-work opportunities. The project tried to find the answer to this question through identification and selection of national All Means All Award Sites. Potential award sites were identified through the use of an award nomination process that included specific questions about the strategy being nominated. Award sites were identified according to: how well they met the select project criteria (see our Checklist Poster) and how well they described and shared the components of their strategy. Ensuring that All Means All in the Implementation of School-to-Work Opportunities As discussions take place around the country concerning the scope of school-to-work systems, it is of critical importance that the individual needs and interests of a variety of youth be fully considered. In far too many school districts, separate educational services have been developed for different types of learners. Examples include "special education" for learners with disabilities and "alternative education" for learners who don't appear to "fit" into regular education. Isolation and lack of coordination have diminished opportunities for: all youth to participate in a variety of important school-to-work activities; general education to learn about, modify, and use models originally developed in separate programs; and our communities and our national economy to benefit from the talents, skills, and abilities of every learner. What is Meant by "All Means All"? Throughout the life of this project defining what "all learners" reallymeans, has been difficult at best. Although federal legislation outlines a list of required subsets of learners that must be included in school-to-work efforts and opportunities, the list is not by any means complete. It is also relevant and interesting to mention at this point, that the federally required list of learners that must be served by school-to-work opportunities does not include any reference to learners within general education. Yet, students within general education are the most common recipients of school-to-work opportunities. I have participated in countless conversations with people from around the country regarding what "all learners" really means. Most would typically say something like, "Well all just means all! It means every student, no exceptions. All learners should be included if they so choose and should have access and have benefit." I would have to agree! However, underlying this statement, was and is an abundance of hidden meaning about the "all learners" issue, as well as a wide varitey of ways that this meaning is put into actual practice. As we have found out through this project, it is not as simple as it sounds - philosophically or when planning for implementation. Defining what "all learners" means requires frank, open-minded discussion with school-to-work partners as we build and evaluate our school-to-work systems. It requires careful planning, the ability to be flexible with our plans, and the willingness to be generous with our resources and opportunities. At it's most basic and fundamental level, including all learners is really about inclusion. It is about creating welcoming environments for every learner in our schools, our businesses, and our communities. It is about letting go of preconceived ideas about what a learner can or cannot do. It is about getting rid of prerequisites that might bar a learner from participation - in other words - to keep certain learners "out." It is about helping every learner to build upon their strengths and talents, while making sure they have support and guidance to make good choices for their future. It's about belonging - and it's about inclusion in life. Some of the best definitions about including all learners come from Webster's 9th New England Dictionary and Rogets Thesaurus. Webster's 9th New Collegiate Dictionary Inclusion is the act of including. To include is to take in or comprise as a part of a whole. Roget's Thesaurus: Inclusion is: Noun: acceptance, admission into Verb: contain, embrace, number among or count in, take into account or consideration Adjective: of the same class In summary, as we have identified award sites, talked with the people from around the country, and had dialogue about how to bring meaning into implementation, we have come to some general conclusions. Including all learners means: Giving every learner the opportunity to participate in any school-to-work opportunity that will help them reach their goals and dreams for the future Giving every learner the support they need in order to have access and benefit from school-to-work opportunities Giving every learner the same chance to succeed - or fail - as any other learner through the same opportunities and choices. We hope that the information on this site will help you to grow, learn, be challenged, and inspire you to set high standards when it comes to including all learners in school-to-work opportunities.

	WELCOME!	The Award
	Project Overview	STW Wizards
	Students Only!	Helpful Tools
	Parent Connection	Link Up!
	Local Partnership Network
	http://ici.umn.edu/all/overview.html Last updated January 19, 2000 © 1997-2007 by the Regents of the University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer.