The Real Education Project
Preserving Civil Rights History Through Storytelling
🏆 Winner of the 2025 Audie Award for Best Young Adult Audiobook
The Real Education of TJ Crowley: Coming of Age on the Redline
An initiative of The Real Education Project — created in partnership with Grain Valley Publishing Company to protect history and inspire change.
Help Us Share This Story with the World
The Real Education Project uses award-winning audio storytelling to preserve civil rights history, challenge racial injustice, and spark powerful conversations in classrooms and communities.
Our immersive audio drama, The Real Education of TJ Crowley, is now recognized as one of the best in the world — and your support helps us bring its message to more students, teachers, and listeners.
2024: A Breakthrough Year for The Real Education Project
Winning an Audie Award is a rare and career-defining honor, cementing The Real Education of TJ Crowley as one of the top audiobooks of the year and further establishing its impact in both literary and educational spaces. The recognition from the APA underscores the exceptional storytelling, production, and performances that make this full-cast adaptation a groundbreaking achievement in the Young Adult category, which is awarded for excellence in narration, production, and content of a teen audiobook, ages 13-18.
Winner: Audie Award for Best Young Adult Audiobook — the highest honor in the industry
Debuted as the #1 New Release in Historical Fiction for Teens on Audible
Received the AudioFile Earphones Award for exceptional audio performance
Hosted powerful community listening events, connecting students, educators, and civic leaders
Why Now? Because the truth still matters.
Celebrated as the "Oscars of Audiobooks," this event, hosted by the Audio Publishers Association (APA), honored the industry’s finest in spoken-word storytelling. Captured on the red carpet, celebrating this incredible win: Claire Overstake, Dion Graham, Grant Overstake, Dani Martineck, Kevin R. Free, May Wuthrich, Graham Halstead, Thérèse Plummer, Tavia Gilbert, Brittany Pressley, and Michael Crouch. Cast members not pictured, Johnny Heller, Shayna Small, Ari Fliakos, Peter Berkrot, John Wright, and Sheila Brown Kinnard.
At a time when honest conversations about race, history, and equity are being silenced in classrooms, stories like The Real Education of TJ Crowley offer a way in — with empathy, integrity, and impact.
Your support helps preserve civil rights history, protect inclusive education, and ensure that young people have the tools to think critically, feel deeply, and stand for justice.
Community Listening in Action
Real Voices. Real Real Reflection. Real Change.
Across Wichita and beyond, students, educators, and community leaders are gathering to listen — and to act.
Coming Soon: The Official Scriptbook
The Real Education of TJ Crowley Audio Drama Scriptbook
A new companion guide for educators, classrooms, and discussion groups
Education Through Listening
In classrooms across Kansas and beyond, students are experiencing The Real Education of TJ Crowley through a shared audio listening model. This group approach encourages empathy, sparks discussion, and turns history into personal reflection.
Thanks to the support of a dedicated patron, we’re thrilled to announce the upcoming Scriptbook — a vital resource for educators, readers, and anyone who wants to go deeper into the story.
It will include:
The full, word-for-word script of the award-winning audio drama
Historical notes and redlining context
Guided discussion prompts
Classroom listening activities
This is more than a script — it’s a literary resource, a teaching tool, and a way to keep this conversation going. Our Scriptbook and teaching guides are designed to support this model — with real questions, real voices, and real impact.
Our Supporters Made This Possible
The audio project was made possible with funding from the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. Also, from The Lenox Foundation, The Stecher Family Foundation, Massachusetts Mutual Insurance Co., Bird by Bird Outreach, and the following individuals: Abbe F. Large, Mike and Sally Harris, Marcia Ross and Jeff Kaufman, Michael Simon, Michael Birzer, Gretchen Eick and Michael Poage, and Sarah Bagby.
We honor your belief in the power of truth-telling, and we thank you for helping us build something that will educate, inspire, and endure.
Why Your Gift Matters Now
In a time when inclusive education is under threat and stories about race and justice are being erased, your support ensures this work continues. You're not just funding an audiobook — you're preserving civil rights history and empowering the next generation.
Your donation today ensures this story continues to be heard.
Your contribution is tax-deductible and directly fuels our mission to preserve civil rights history, empower educators, and inspire lasting change.
About this Project
The Real Education Project is a nonprofit initiative developed by Grain Valley Publishing in partnership with NonProfitGO, our trusted 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor.
Together, we’re working to preserve civil rights history, promote truth in education, and expand access to powerful storytelling tools like The Real Education of TJ Crowley and the forthcoming Scriptbook.
Want to help preserve history and protect the truth?
Now’s the time.
Donations are processed through NonProfitGO, our official 501(c)(3) sponsor.
Prefer to Donate Another Way?
Online – Donate securely via PayPal or credit card
Bank Transfer – Contact us to request routing and account info
By Check – Make payable to NonProfitGO (our fiscal sponsor)
Memo: “The Real Education Project”
Mail to: NonProfitGO, 303 S. Broadway, Suite 121, Wichita, KS 67202
All gifts are tax-deductible and go directly to supporting our mission.
Thank You. Truly.
Your generosity helps preserve the truth, amplify unheard voices, and bring this powerful story into classrooms and communities that need it most.