SMART’s Commitment to Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity

“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”

– James Baldwin

SMART champions education equity by supporting students in overcoming systemic barriers on their journey to a college degree.

Achieving education equity requires us to examine and address systems and processes that are rooted in a long and painful history of racism, xenophobia, and other forms of bias, discrimination, and oppression. All too often, educational outcomes are correlated with factors such as race, family income, and parental education. We are committed to disrupting these injustices.

We envision a community with equitable pathways to college graduation for every student in San Francisco. Realizing this vision requires the unrelenting pursuit of organizational structures that are just, fair, and inclusive.

When we are successful, our efforts will enable all of our stakeholders the opportunity to belong, participate, and reach their full potential. Achieving an equitable, inclusive, and diverse community will unleash creativity, strengthen relationships, and propel our work forward.

Therefore, we are committed to consistently reviewing the processes through which we recruit and onboard our Scholars, staff, board members, and volunteers. We are committed to understanding and improving the ways in which our Scholars, families, staff, board, and volunteers feel included, empowered, and appreciated at SMART. We are committed to engaging individuals of diverse backgrounds and experiences in all aspects of our work and decision-making. We are committed to working with vendors and partners who reflect the communities we serve and share our values. We are committed to fundraising and communication practices that focus on the assets and strengths in our communities.

In all of our work, we are committed to reflection, identifying where we fall short, and ongoing improvement.