A commitment to equity for all, a drive to create an inclusive environment, and a firm belief that diversity makes us all stronger—in our classrooms and in our (virtual) offices.
The students and educators who rely on ReadWorks to learn, teach, and grow represent every race, nationality, religion, gender, sexual identity, ability, and socioeconomic status. The diversity of our community makes our world stronger, and therefore, we believe in the value of creating spaces, content, and tools that build equity, honor differences, and foster inclusion.
At ReadWorks, we have a deep-seated conviction that ALL students deserve a high-quality reading education, one that is based on research and empowers them to thrive in school and in life. By delivering free resources, tools, and content to support all teachers and students, we are doing our part to move closer to that vision. With our research-based, on-demand teacher guide and webinars, we strive to support teachers everywhere in their daily instruction. Through our differentiation tools, we work to ensure that every student has the support they need to become a successful, joyful reader. And by consistently expanding our vast library to reflect the diversity of our world, we aim to give every reader the opportunity to see themselves in their reading materials.
Working towards diversity, equity, and inclusion is a journey. Over the past several years, we have made strides in many focus areas, and we are committed to continually improving on a number of fronts.
Educational Equity and Supporting Priority Communities
In an ongoing effort to advance educational equity, ReadWorks has focused on partnering with and learning from the communities that could benefit most from our resources. ReadWorks has worked with research partners to measure the impact of the pandemic in classrooms, sought guidance from our Educator Advisory Group on future initiatives, and surveyed educators to understand how we can better develop our platform and resources to support them in achieving their instructional goals.
Through this work, we have identified high-impact projects and priority communities, including low-income schools (defined as those where 75% or more of students qualify for free or reduced lunch), English language learners, and early childhood learners. These communities and our plans for equity-focused projects are highlighted in our three-year strategic plan, Igniting Potential. Since September 2022, we have announced a new recommendation engine project, partnered with funders in Philadelphia and New York City to further support their communities, and launched our brand new decodable texts offering. This year we will continue:
ReadWorks Content
The content students engage with can go a long way in making them feel seen, understood, and represented—as well as exposing all students to people, places, and ideas that are unfamiliar. Furthermore, research has shown that students are more likely to engage with reading that is connected to their own lived experiences and relevant to their lives. At ReadWorks, we have created a system to codify and track diversity in our texts, and continue to grow and refine our library by:
Accessibility of Our Tools and Materials
All students deserve access to the highest quality materials. Over the past years, we’ve taken major steps towards making accessibility an integral part of every project we tackle. This has included increasing audio supports, adding captions, improving keyboard navigation, and creating an offline mode to enable students to work on their assignments with weak or no WiFi. We’re continuing work on a number of initiatives to make our product more accessible, including:
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion among Staff and Board Members
We believe that a staff and board that reflects the diversity of the educators and students we reach is integral to achieving our mission. As part of an effort to ensure diversity and inclusion, in the past three years, we have evaluated and improved our hiring processes, summer internship program, and organizational culture as a remote organization. We have also worked to provide transparency to the public on these efforts and our organizational demographics, receiving the Platinum Seal of Transparency on Candid. Going forward, we remain committed to ensuring diversity within our organization and boards, and to prioritizing and evolving an equitable and inclusive organizational culture. This year we will continue:
The students and educators who rely on ReadWorks to learn, teach, and grow represent every race, nationality, religion, gender, sexual identity, ability, and socioeconomic status. The diversity of our community makes our world stronger, and therefore, we believe in the value of creating spaces, content, and tools that build equity, honor differences, and foster inclusion.
At ReadWorks, we have a deep-seated conviction that ALL students deserve a high-quality reading education, one that is based on research and empowers them to thrive in school and in life. By delivering free resources, tools, and content to support all teachers and students, we are doing our part to move closer to that vision. With our research-based, on-demand teacher guide and webinars, we strive to support teachers everywhere in their daily instruction. Through our differentiation tools, we work to ensure that every student has the support they need to become a successful, joyful reader. And by consistently expanding our vast library to reflect the diversity of our world, we aim to give every reader the opportunity to see themselves in their reading materials.
Working towards diversity, equity, and inclusion is a journey. Over the past several years, we have made strides in many focus areas, and we are committed to continually improving on a number of fronts.
Educational Equity and Supporting Priority Communities
In an ongoing effort to advance educational equity, ReadWorks has focused on partnering with and learning from the communities that could benefit most from our resources. ReadWorks has worked with research partners to measure the impact of the pandemic in classrooms, sought guidance from our Educator Advisory Group on future initiatives, and surveyed educators to understand how we can better develop our platform and resources to support them in achieving their instructional goals.
Through this work, we have identified high-impact projects and priority communities, including low-income schools (defined as those where 75% or more of students qualify for free or reduced lunch), English language learners, and early childhood learners. These communities and our plans for equity-focused projects are highlighted in our three-year strategic plan, Igniting Potential. Since September 2022, we have announced a new recommendation engine project, partnered with funders in Philadelphia and New York City to further support their communities, and launched our brand new decodable texts offering. This year we will continue:
- Implementing our three-year strategic plan with our priority communities at the forefront of our initiatives
- Building the next phases of our recommendation engine to continue to expose all students to grade-level reading, based on the research findings that low-income students are less likely to receive materials at grade level
- Designing new supports for English language learners, including authentic Spanish texts
- Offering more tailored professional development opportunities for educators based on their instructional needs
- Partnering with priority districts and schools at a local level to deepen impact
ReadWorks Content
The content students engage with can go a long way in making them feel seen, understood, and represented—as well as exposing all students to people, places, and ideas that are unfamiliar. Furthermore, research has shown that students are more likely to engage with reading that is connected to their own lived experiences and relevant to their lives. At ReadWorks, we have created a system to codify and track diversity in our texts, and continue to grow and refine our library by:
- Expanding our offering of nonfiction texts that reflect the diversity of the students we serve
- Growing our library of fiction texts that represent a wide variety of lived experience
- Diversifying the authorship of our stories
- Consistently reviewing all texts, new and old, for sensitivity and accuracy
Accessibility of Our Tools and Materials
All students deserve access to the highest quality materials. Over the past years, we’ve taken major steps towards making accessibility an integral part of every project we tackle. This has included increasing audio supports, adding captions, improving keyboard navigation, and creating an offline mode to enable students to work on their assignments with weak or no WiFi. We’re continuing work on a number of initiatives to make our product more accessible, including:
- Ensuring captions and audio versions are included in all relevant resources and content—including training and promotional materials
- Improving the accessibility of our website through audits and enhancements in alt-text, audio tools, and keyboard navigation
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion among Staff and Board Members
We believe that a staff and board that reflects the diversity of the educators and students we reach is integral to achieving our mission. As part of an effort to ensure diversity and inclusion, in the past three years, we have evaluated and improved our hiring processes, summer internship program, and organizational culture as a remote organization. We have also worked to provide transparency to the public on these efforts and our organizational demographics, receiving the Platinum Seal of Transparency on Candid. Going forward, we remain committed to ensuring diversity within our organization and boards, and to prioritizing and evolving an equitable and inclusive organizational culture. This year we will continue:
- Meaningfully expanding the diversity of our Board, Young Professionals Council, and Advisory Council
- Creating regular channels for anonymous feedback on workplace culture
- Monitoring our hiring and onboarding processes to ensure adherence to best practices
- Building opportunities for forging relationships and mutual understanding in our remote workplace
- Providing a benefits package that promotes equity in access including excellent and affordable health benefits, robust professional development opportunities, and flexible remote work options
