Racial Equity
As an organization committed to racial equity, Readers 2 Leaders has been working diligently to implement learnings from its participation in Dallas Truth Racial Healing and Transformation's Racial Equity Now cohort. Our racial equity task force, made up of staff and board members, invested hours of thoughtful discussion, leading to the creation of our Racial Equity Policy Statement. As we continue on our journey to become a fully inclusive organization, we invite you to recommit yourself along with us - for it is through shared understanding, an openness to learning and change, and collective action that we can be agents for true transformation.
Readers 2 Leaders Racial Equity Policy Statement
At Readers 2 Leaders, we firmly believe that all children deserve an equitable education and that literacy is a human right. We are fully committed to our vision that all children in Dallas read on grade level by the end of 3rd grade.
Institutional racism is the root cause of poor academic outcomes for Black and Latino students, but Readers 2 Leaders has not always operated with this knowledge at the forefront. Unfortunately, we have often engaged communities with paternalistic solutions. Through a process of learning and self-reflection, we have come to realize it is our responsibility to understand the link between racism and educational outcomes, engage stakeholders, and take action to undo the harm caused by these systems.
In Dallas, systems, institutions, and policies created and perpetuated racially segregated communities. While Brown v. Board of Education was passed in 1954, Dallas Independent School District did not fully comply until 2003. Today, DISD’s students are 71% Hispanic, 21% Black, and 5% White. Students in our programs exist within these systems which continue to perpetuate inequities in discipline, academics, and opportunity.
By 2025, we commit to eliminating racial disparities within our organization and programs in the following ways:
Increase the racial diversity of the board and leadership team by 10% each year.
Revise practices and policies through a racial equity lens (i.e. employee handbook, recruiting/hiring).
Partner with stakeholders to learn about the effects of institutional racism on early literacy outcomes.
Support equity of stakeholder voice:
Hire Spanish speaking staff and increase translated content for parents.
Increase student, parent, and teacher input on R2L programs.
Engage West Dallas residents, parents, students, and nonprofit partners to maximize facility usage by the community.
Literacy is a human right.
At Readers 2 Leaders we stand steadfast in disrupting discrimination and racial disparities to ensure our Black and Latino children have that right.
