K-8 REAL

While working as director of the national REAL organization, Dr. DeLargy, who was also a former primary and elementary school principal, ran across research indicating that between 25 and 27 percent of the students entering kindergarten and first grade had definite entrepreneurial characteristics. However, by the time the same students finished high school, only 3 to 5 percent still had the entrepreneurial attributes. DeLargy resigned his national position to direct his efforts to implement high school and post-secondary programs in his home state of Georgia and to develop an elementary and middle school REAL program.

DeLargy met with principals and teachers at his former school who were involved in an entrepreneurial program originating in the early 1970's and still using his founding philosophy. From 1995 to 1997, principals and teachers from several REAL sites refined their entrepreneurial ideas of how a community should run. K-8 REAL was formalized for kindergarten through grade eight.

K-8 REAL continues to train teachers in communities where the established high school REAL program can provide K-12 and in some cases a complete K-16+ implementation model. Additionally, K-8 REAL is expanding to other school districts that wish to provide a means of applying skills and concepts learned in individual classrooms in a “real life” community simulation.

GA REAL was funded for two years by the WK Kellogg Foundation to support the development of the K-8 REAL Curriculum.