At Curriculum Associates, values play a core role in the company’s operations and approach to business. With a mission to improve classrooms for both students and teachers, the organization was founded to achieve better learning outcomes for all students, especially for those from marginalized communities.
Over 50 years since its founding, these values continue to guide the company. Curriculum Associates strives to continually enhance and adapt its integration of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) in the way it treats its employees.
Tyrone Holmes, the company’s impassioned Chief Inclusion Officer, gave us an inside look into DEIB efforts at Curriculum Associates. His insights emphasize the core role that such practices and mindsets play in the way the company conducts business, hires team members, and strengthens relationships with current employees.
Holmes shared how his parents and their experiences impacted his awareness of the importance of identity and belonging at a young age. “Work-related stress is natural. But over time, I began to wonder if they felt like they belonged—at their job, with the people they worked with, and so on,” he says.
“Working with educators and colleagues around the nation has given me a sense of how people come to feel engaged in their work and at their jobs. Regardless of profession, people want to feel like they belong. They want the freedom to be their whole selves and still feel welcomed, appreciated, and trusted,” Holmes says. “Also, people want to be themselves and see themselves at all levels of their organization. They want realistic opportunities to thrive that are in no way hindered by their personal identities.”
Curriculum Associates is focused on fostering a deep sense of belonging for its employees. “We have a lot of work to do, but this commitment guides the company’s internal DEIB strategy which focuses on hiring and culture.”
One consideration on the hiring front is rethinking the utility of network-based hiring. Leadership teams within Curriculum Associates recognize that while hiring from within employee networks is an effective way to fill positions quickly, this practice is not helpful in welcoming more diverse talent to an organization.
“Some experts say that connections are the most important influence in landing a job. Thus the expression, ‘It’s who you know, not what you know’,” Holmes explains. “Our nation remains largely segregated. This leads to professional and personal networks that are segregated in terms of economic opportunity, schooling, and race. When hiring managers rely on their networks to fill roles, or the demographics of the town where the office is located, this substantially limits diversity. And when you limit the diversity of people and thought, you limit innovation.”
To counter this challenge, the company has employed innovative practices to extend its hiring network and make more people aware of the types of products and services it offers. Curriculum Associates posts open roles across a variety of platforms, including interest- and identity-focused job boards, and shares openings through educational institutions and organizations focused on reaching a diverse candidate pool. In doing so, the company creates open opportunity for individuals of all backgrounds to find their fit within the organization.
These hiring practices are just one part of the company’s DEIB strategy.
Holmes says that remote work has had a surprising impact on diversity efforts and on the company’s culture, making it easier for the company to broaden its talent pool and attract diverse top talent. Several initiatives, including Employee Resource Groups, regular employee surveys, and data-driven decisions around DEIB efforts, are used to continuously seek feedback from employees and refine what it means to be a truly inclusive organization.
Holmes says that while leaders at Curriculum Associates are committed to the work , the company recognizes that this is a process with no clearly defined end. “It’s like yoga. It’s a practice. It’s not like, oh you did this — you’re finished! There’s no finish line. It is vital that all who engage in this work understand that,” Holmes says.
He explains that it is also vital to remain responsive and flexible. “This work is always evolving.”
When asked what he’s most proud of in his tenure with the company, Holmes said it is the people within the organization. “DEIB work is some of the most challenging work an organization can undergo. The pressure is immense. Folks rarely agree, and if you let it, the work can exact a heavy toll on one’s mind and heart. Yet day after day, our staff continues this critical work even when the path is unclear. For that I am not just proud, I am grateful.”
