Kevin Erspamer, a social studies teacher at the Drew School in San Francisco, said his students were often inundated with inaccurate information about current events.

“Retro Report does a great job in a short time of presenting a more nuanced view,” he said in an interview during the summit. “It’s really important for students to develop that skill of not falling victim to those extreme positions, but rather seek out the more nuanced viewpoints.”

The Council of Educators is one way Retro Report is learning from teachers about ways to meet their needs. Director of Education David Olson said constructive feedback and lively brainstorming activities were the top reasons for holding the summit.

“I really saw bringing together a group of educators as an absolutely essential part of what our mission is,” Olson said. “I knew we could capture some of that magic if we brought really smart people together in one place.”

During a visit to the Tenement Museum in Manhattan, educators were paired with docents who led a tour of tenement buildings and described the experiences of immigrants across several generations. Later, teachers met with the Tenement Museum’s education department to learn about online resources.

During the summit, teachers took an inside look at Retro Report’s video production process. Jessica Torres, a social studies curriculum coordinator from Waco, Texas, is a curricular specialist who often recommends Retro Report materials for use in classrooms.

“The depth of research that goes into each of the videos was phenomenal,” she said.

Council of Educators members will continue to create lessons that incorporate Retro Report videos, and collaborate to reach more educators. Retro Report’s immediate goals are to increase its resources for grades 6 to 12 and reach 100,000 teachers by 2025.

“We were able to compile just an all-star group of educators,” Olson said. “I’m really excited to see what they create and what projects they decide to dive into.”

Retro Report’s mission is to inject context into today’s news cycle, using the clear lens of history to bring a greater understanding of current events and to fight misinformation. Retro Report’s work inspires critical thinking and discussion about history, civics, and science. Its journalists have deep experience at major news organizations including 60 Minutes, CNN, CBS News, ABC News and The New York Times.