At All It Takes, we believe that growth doesn’t look the same for everyone. For some students, it means speaking up for the first time. For others, it might mean stepping into a leadership role, reaching out to a peer, or simply choosing to participate. Every young person has their own version of courage—and their own “two steps further.” At a recent field trip for sixth graders, that belief came to life in extraordinary ways. Every student faced something that stretched them

The Detour That Defined Me Have you ever had life hand you a “no” that eventually became the best “yes” you never expected? In 1989, I lived that story. I had applied to a graduate program in School Psychology, confident it was the path I was meant to take. Then came the letter: “Unfortunately, we do not have a spot for you in the School Psychology program, but we would like to offer you a place in our School Counseling program.”  My application was good enough—it just wasn’t

Last year, Autumn Boylan sat down with All It Takes during the California Association of School Counselors Conference to share her perspective on the challenges facing the education ecosystem. Not only is the perspective of the Deputy Director of the Office of Strategic Partnerships at the California Department of Health Care Services valuable to the conversation, but her perspective as a parent shows that this conversation is more than policy debates; it's deeply personal f

A message from our founder: On Saturday, September 27, I checked off a bucket list moment that had been living in my heart since the very...

Mike Johnson, a middle school counselor in California, shares his school's approach to engaging busy working families in their children's...