What is Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion?
We aim to integrate our diversity, equity, and inclusion, commonly called DEI, efforts into all aspects of our work. We know that we cannot do this work externally without internally building a foundation of equity and inclusion. With this basis of internal DEI efforts, Triangle has a unique opportunity and platform with access to government, private companies, non-profits and can support these institutions’ progress in racial and social justice. Each project team at Triangle embeds this DEI commitment in our work in different ways. One tangible example of how Triangle’s Education team puts our DEI values into practice is by performing an annual DEI Script Review on all the classroom workshops we teach. Currently, that means over 60 workshops go through the same process to ensure they are culturally responsive and accessible for the incredibly diverse range of students we interact with. A critical tool in this process is an internal template checklist that we use to analyze our scripts based on seven key components:
- Communication and Language – Does the workshop’s language account for the varied experiences of students? Is information shared using multiple modalities to accommodate different learning styles and cultural differences?
- Critical Thinking – Are students able to reflect and share their thoughts, drawing on connections to their own lived experiences?
- Placed-Based Connections – Are students encouraged to consider the historical and social context of their local environment?
- Agency and Access – How accessible are the activities and language for English Language Learners? Are there opportunities for students to take leadership within the workshop and identify problems and solutions that are relevant to them?
- Systems Thinking Approach – Is the workshop content framed to have students think about larger contexts as they relate to the ideas of global citizenship and responsibility?
- Timing and Pacing – Does the workshop content flow well and is there enough time during the activities for all students to participate and feel included?
- Adherence to Mission – Does the workshop adhere to Triangle’s mission and DEI values?
Each summer, when our team has a rare moment to take a breath, we use this checklist to analyze our scripts and make recommendations and updates. We’ve taught some workshops for over 10 years and we continue to pilot new workshops to this day. The checklist serves as a way to not only improve our longstanding projects, but also as a guide to develop new ones with our DEI values at the forefront. And as we continue to use the tool and deepen our knowledge of DEI, the checklist also evolves. Every year before we start the process, Education Associates review and update the tool itself to ensure it still aligns with our values.
Our goal at Triangle is that for any of our projects, from public meeting facilitation to elementary school workshops, we approach the work guided by our commitment to DEI and to the communities we strive to empower.