Applying the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) when creating education and academic content ensures that all students have access to materials they can relate to, and through which they can develop empathy for others.
Westchester Education offers Culturally Responsive Education (CRE) and DEI reviews on both backlists and new content, to support publishers in ensuring that their content meets required standards of inclusion and equity. Click here to listen to our podcast discussion about CRE and its significance in education and academic content development.
Our CRE review service (see Approach #1 below) was shortlisted for the 2021 Stationers’ Company Innovation Excellence Award. We’re honoured that in 2025 and 2026, we have received a renewal of the Stationers’ Company Warrant we were initially awarded in 2022.
We offer three levels of separate CRE review approaches, all based upon our award-winning rubric
The goal of our CRE reviews is to provide comprehensive, practical and prioritised feedback. Clients can elect to make any necessary changes, or our subject matter teams can work in tandem with them to make the necessary adjustments.
The first approach is Westchester’s fully comprehensive CRE rubric. Drawing from the best practices of educational, academic, and library anti-bias, and culturally responsible programmes, our review team uses the rubric to provide comprehensive feedback for a given programme: highlighting its strengths, weaknesses, and omissions. Reviewers identify issues with problematic language, coverage, viewpoints, and representation, noting ways the materials can be revised to ensure greater inclusivity.
The second approach offers a streamlined version of the rubric review process, which can be especially beneficial for backlist titles. This approach reviews records and prioritises critical issues, in a bespoke, project-based spreadsheet. Once agreed, these comments can then be marked up and amended on PDF proofs of the titles themselves, delivering a more cost-effective review whilst retaining the integrity of the rubric review approach.
The third approach is a sensitivity read. This is our most cost-effective workflow option which has been developed specifically for backlist titles. Our team of sensitivity readers conduct a careful review of the material, spotlighting the most critical issues. They can either produce a short report that illuminates the problems, or mark-up content directly, offering a straightforward solution to making content more diverse and inclusive.
Our CRE review teams
Each of our CRE review teams represent a broad range of viewpoints and experiences. They include educators whose lived experiences mirror those of many students, as well as experts who have helped to develop accessible, inspiring, and rich CRE programmes. We recommend that at least two reviewers work on each set of material.
Contact us to talk about Westchester’s Culturally Responsive Education review.