ReadWorks Produces High-Quality, Diverse and Representative Content with an In-Depth Tagging System5/4/2023  Content Example: The Story of Mary Church Terrell At ReadWorks, producing high-quality content means ensuring our products are inclusive and reflective of everyone who uses them. It is important that our content provides “windows and mirrors” for all the readers who encounter it: content that reflects readers’ experiences, while also providing rich, engaging glimpses into other lives, places, and time periods. We understand that building a diverse and representative library isn’t an end goal but a continuous process, and we’re dedicated to constantly improving. So, what does that continuous process look like? It starts with knowing our library inside and out. Before we even start to create or curate texts, we combine our research-based focus on building background knowledge with an awareness of our library and the topics and voices we want to elevate. We have developed an in-depth tagging system to evaluate the strengths and gaps within our library. Each piece of content is internally tagged by topic, genre, settings, and qualities of characters (ranging from ethnicity to disability status to religion and beyond). This helps the ReadWorks team understand what our library already offers and what we should focus on next.  Content Example: Indonesia's Culture and History With that understanding, we are constantly working to add new texts to ensure representation in our library. Sometimes, we work with both internal and external ReadWorks writers from diverse backgrounds to create new, relevant, and authentic fiction and nonfiction. Other times, new texts come from experts at our museum and cultural institution partners, such as the American Museum of Natural History and the Vanderbilt University Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies. At all times, we’re keeping in mind our larger goal: to create a library where every reader can feel connected to and engaged in what they are reading and learning. Part of meeting this larger goal goes beyond the new texts we add—it also requires carefully reviewing the texts that have been added to our library over the many years that ReadWorks has been serving teachers. We are constantly reviewing texts to ensure that they meet our current standards around sensitivity, fairness, and representation. This is especially important as we revisit texts about historically marginalized or underrepresented populations. During this review process, we seek training and resources specific to the populations our texts represent, and we consult multiple sources to confirm the accuracy of information in a text. We do our best to represent the complexities surrounding sensitive topics in ways that are developmentally appropriate. And we take every aspect of a text into consideration, including titling, images, and the focus of its curricular supports. We also consider the perspectives and insights shared by ReadWorks users, and texts are typically reviewed by multiple team members. At ReadWorks, high-quality content is diverse and representative, and we recognize the responsibility that comes with achieving this goal. We know that our understanding of issues related to diverse populations and equity will continue to evolve, and so this process of careful review will always be ongoing.  Content Example: Telling Her Family's Story through Comics Written by:
Manjula Raman, Senior Director of Content & Curriculum / Senior DEI Coordinator Nathalie Karimian, Ed.D., Content & Curricular Supports Developer
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