Chicago

Background Information on the Americans All—Chicago Pilot Program

Educational programs to increase minority students' self-esteem have proliferated in recent years. One approach that was first tested in Chicago in 1987 is the Appreciative Learning Motivational Support Program for Urban Educators developed by Dr. Gail Christopher. The intention of the program is to offer teachers a peer support and learning experience that would improve their capacity to instill self-respect in students, build self- confidence and foster critical thinking skills. An evaluation of the program at the St. Ambrose Catholic School, located in one of Chicago's high-poverty neighborhoods, confirmed that the program was a highly favorable and effective intervention for working with high-risk students.

After careful deliberation and research, the decision was reached to combine the Appreciative Learning Motivational and Support Program with Images of Ellis Island to create a more comprehensive initiative called "Immigrants  All … Americans All." In the spring of 1990, the program was named "Americans All" to communicate more effectively its focus on the history of the "peopling of America" by immigrants, slaves, migrants and refugees. The new initiative was a multicultural  educational  program that sought to be inclusive of all ethnic group experiences, to provide needed appreciative learning training and motivational support for teachers, to engage parents and community in the education of their children and to promote the development of critical and creative thinking skills and knowledge of cultural diversity in American history.
                                                                         Mark F. Testa,Ph.D., University of Chicago,
                                                                         February 1991

 

Highlights from the Chicago Pilot Program

​​Relevant Links to Navigate our Website

Click here to view the Americans All Program Overview.

Click here to learn how we support schools and students.

Click here to learn how we support small businesses and service providers. 

Click here to view or download a tutorial on how to register a school or individual for Americans All, for free.

Click here to register an individual or a school for Americans All.

 

For additional information, please contact:
Allan Kullen, President
People of America Foundation / Americans All
7723 Groton Road, Bethesda, MD 20817
301-520-8242, akullen@americansall.org
www.americansall.orgwww.homeschoolmaterials.org