In principle and in practice, Teachers & Writers Collaborative strives to be a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization. We believe these values are central to our organization’s founding and to our enduring mission to celebrate the imagination through transformative arts education, to inspire classroom innovation, and to create greater equity in and through the literary arts.
We believe that work, art, and community flourish when voices from diverse identities, perspectives, and backgrounds are present; when each voice has access to the tools, space, and resources needed for creative exploration; and when there is a spirit of shared listening and responding to each voice’s unique contributions. As T&W’s founders did, we continue to recognize the inequities, discriminations, and exclusions in America’s history, including the ways art, language, and education have been used as weapons of oppression. With this understanding, we respect the potential power writing has to shape our world.
At T&W, we are committed to identifying, naming, and removing barriers that prevent any individual or group of individuals from working with us or participating in our programming. We strive to make T&W more diverse, equitable, and inclusive by:
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Adopting and improving organizational policies that proactively seek out team members who reflect the diversity of the people and communities we serve through our Board of Directors, Advisory Board, Editorial Board, staff, and teaching artist roster; and eliminating barriers that would prevent us from working with anyone based on individual or collective identity.
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Ensuring that T&W programming is accessible regardless of identity, ability, economic background, or age. We strive for our programs and events to be accessible to as many people as possible.
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Creating regular learning opportunities for our Board of Directors, staff, teaching artists, and Editorial Board to develop the knowledge and skills to support T&W’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
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Providing regular opportunities for individuals and groups within T&W to offer feedback on strategies to support the organization’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.
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Interrogating our personal relationship to identity and history in pursuit of undoing oppressive behavioral patterns and power dynamics in order to embody and exemplify equanimity in the classroom and in all of our work.
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Building our programming around the needs, experiences, interests, strengths, and potential of our communities.