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How we’re building diversity, belonging, inclusion and equity at ��ɫ��Ƶ

Through equity checks, job role reviews and working with partners, we aim to understand not just where we are as an organization but to set goals for what we need to do to actualize our vision. Ultimately, we want to create and sustain a diverse workforce at all levels and make sure we have supports and structures in place that equitably promote, retain, develop and engage members of our community.

We understand that to improve, we must encourage our staff and our corps to grow in their personal anti-racism journeys as well. To guide us in this work, we’ve established a National Equity Advisory Council and Office of Equity. They’re leading and designing learning series where staff and corps can explore equity, unpack systemic racism and discuss how what they’re learning impacts their work.

Additionally, we’ve established affinity groups to create safe spaces for continued learning and support.

Our Why

��ɫ��Ƶ was built on the belief more than three decades ago that uniting and empowering diverse teams of idealistic young people and supporting them as they solve some of our country’s most difficult challenges can change the world for the better.

Our anti-racist journey has taken many forms, but we continue to learn and evolve along the way. We haven’t always hit the mark. While we still have a lot of work to do to get it right, the passion, courage and commitment of members of our community continue to push the organization to deepen its understanding and practice of this work.

At our core, the importance of diversity, belonging, inclusivity and equity (DBIE) is and has been threaded throughout our foundational values. We know this work takes ongoing courage, commitment and discipline from all members of our ��ɫ��Ƶ community.

Our Work

With focus on students and schools, DBIE is not only fundamental to our values; it is critical for our mission. Our AmeriCorps members work to address educational inequity in diverse teams as they serve students, classrooms and schools across the country.

And while ��ɫ��Ƶ commits to promoting DBIE across all dimensions of identity, we are prioritizing our focus on racial and ethnic identity, as it is critical for us to achieve our mission and vision.

Issues of societal inequity manifest because of inequitable access to educational opportunities. For example, students with needs that approach crisis-levels as a result of concentrated poverty and other factors comprise 20% of most urban schools, whereas they comprise 29% of the schools that ��ɫ��Ƶ serves, nearly 1.5x the national average[i].

Research shows that children living in neighborhoods of concentrated poverty experience more trauma and graduate high school at rates that are nearly 22 percentage points lower than their middle/upper-income peers. Yet districts serving the largest populations of low-income, and Black and Latinx students receive significantly less state and local funding. Unequal access to opportunity along lines of race, class, gender, and other aspects of identity has deep roots in both our country and our education system.

_{[i] Some states define economically disadvantaged by the percent of students eligible for free or reduced price lunch. Some states define it as students who are receiving certain state-administered benefits. Typical urban school data from PEAR institute partner schools (n=5192); ��ɫ��Ƶ data from HSA results from students in grades 6-8 from Boston, Los Angeles and Columbus (n=246).}