Introducing Our 2022 Annual Report

At R.E.A.L.® we’re big believers in the power of conversation. Yet in 2022, our org-wide resolution was to listen more – and talk less. So what did we hear?

One message was loud and clear: R.E.A.L.® is about so much more than class discussion. A sixth grader told us it’s about “becoming a civilized being.” A ninth grader said REAL skills are “not just for school but jobs and relationships.” An Academic Dean said “It’s re-centering humanity in education!” An industry leader said it’s “everything ChatGPT is not.”

So in 2023, we are embracing the idea – your collective idea – that R.E.A.L.® is not only about teaching conversation skills in Humanities classrooms. It’s about building human-centered school cultures in a tech-centric world.

But, before we get too excited about 2023 – let’s reflect on 2022, beginning with wholehearted thanks.

Thank you to the dozens of school leaders and hundreds of teachers in the R.E.A.L.® network. Change is never easy, but your vision, heart, and elbow grease have empowered your students and school communities to talk, trust, and listen to each other.
Thank you, too, to association leaders, editors, and strategic partners. You helped us find our voice at conferences, in publications, on podcasts … and we are infinitely grateful.

And then there are programmatic highlights worth celebrating! In 2022 we:

Said Hello to R.E.A.L.® Discussion Dashboards: this new tool offers mission-aligned data on class discussions. Instead of analyzing air-time (“how many times did you talk?”), R.E.A.L.® Dashboards empower teachers with meaningful metrics. Read our annual report to check out examples from a 10th grade English class.
Said Good-bye to “One-and-Done!” PD: our PD now engages faculty all year round! This redesign began by training R.E.A.L® Trainers, who facilitated R.E.A.L.® Certification for new teachers last summer. That cohort of 130+ “Discussion Nerds” is now a thriving Professional Learning Community, engaging with Office Hours (Coaching), Study Seshes (Teacher Webinars), and Round Tables (Admin Webinars). Early feedback is in – and effusive: it feels like “teacher therapy;” it is “such a luxury to have someone supporting me – as Dept chair, I support everyone;” “it’s a chance to zoom out and reconnect with my why;” “there is so much laughter amidst deeply thoughtful points.”
Raised external profile of R.E.A.L® : thanks to association partners, we hit the conference circuit hard this Fall. Our sessions were diverse – teaching listening skills … drafting discussion philosophies … engaging Gen-Z learners …facilitating for polarity management – but at all ten events, someone said it was “the best [session / PD / workshop] ever.” This is a testament to prescient event organizers – and we are proud to be out in the world offering ideas that stick.
Built our internal team: behind the scenes, we’ve built a talented, mission-driven team! Emily Gromoll leads all-things-PD and comes to us as a former Department Chair and Instructional Coach; Molly Donovan heads up Comms after having served as Head of Communications at Carney Sandoe; Cotter Donnell directs School Partnerships with empathy and strategy given his previous role as an Associate Head; Oohaa Vennapusa takes care of ops with an efficiency she learned at Deloitte. Our intern program continues to thrive (and keeps us all grounded in Gen-Z life). Together, we are here to help and love nothing more than a great conversation – so please reach out.