Mission & Values

Our Mission

We empower communities to create the conditions for children to be lifelong learners who lead choice-filled lives.

Our Vision

Communities rich in high-quality educational resources are free to determine their unique potential. 

Equity Statement

DEEP believes that educational inequities are manmade– built through resource disparities and decades of decisions that result in too many children without access to the most basic civil right: the ability to read. Because these conditions—which extend far beyond the schoolhouse walls– were created, they can be changed. The literacy crisis is solvable. But it isn’t simple, and it won’t be fixed with silver bullets. It takes alignment, disciplined use of evidence-based practices, and genuine partnership with the communities most impacted. 

We work alongside historically underinvested neighborhoods with the conviction that families don’t need “engagement”—they need power. Our role is to increase family proximity to their children’s academic experience, make data-driven decisions, and support culturally responsive, evidence-based practices that reflect the brilliance and lived realities of the students we support. 

We believe literacy is liberation. When students gain the skills they need, they grow up to  lead choice-filled lives. And when systems align around what works, those gains become possible for every child.