Every student can excel at maths with the right help at the right time

Mathspace is an Australian company, and we have been supporting educators and students in the United States for several years. We know in Australia and the United States there is a long history of racism towards Aboriginal People, African Americans, and other Indigenous peoples and people of color. Beyond slavery, colonisation, and exclusionary immigration policies, racism still exists in the systems and institutions that form the basis of our societies today. We are appalled at the recent and historic cases of unarmed Black people being killed by police officers. As a company, we condemn racism in all forms, and recognise that good intentions are no longer enough. At Mathspace we want our product to promote anti-racism in the mathematics classroom, and provide a curriculum that supports the mathematical success of Black students.

We know that there is much work to be done in the educational technology community around equity and social justice. We must do better by our Black students and educators.

Although education technology companies intend to increase accessibility and equity for all, we know that ed-tech has created a wider gap for some students and schools. The digital divide was all too apparent when COVID-19 caused school shutdowns and many students did not have access to the internet or devices to learn from home. We are recommitting to our mission statement - to be the right help at the right time for EVERY student. In particular, we want to improve the ways we support Black students, who are disproportionately affected by the digital divide. We also recognise the value that Black educators add to the mathematics community, and we are committed to doing more to support them and make sure their voice is represented in our products.

We are doing the work of listening and learning to show up in more ways for Black students, teachers, friends, family, and communities.

We are not where we want to be yet, but we are committed to educating ourselves and prioritising anti-racism and equity in our company practices and in our product. We are reviewing our own internal practices and developing a plan to improve the way we embed equity and inclusion in our products, starting with the formation of a global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. We know the power of mathematics in our own lives and we want to make sure that Black students are empowered to experience mathematics in all of its beauty. In future iterations of our product, we promise to better include the voices and experiences of Black students and other minority traditionally under-served groups directly in our content. Additionally, we are committed to actively recruiting through job boards and listings geared towards Black and other minority candidates.

We believe Black Lives Matter.

We invite our partners at schools and districts to join us on our journey towards building a more equitable world, and to hold us accountable as we grow and learn as a company and as individuals. We value your input and feedback as we strive to do better.