Mission & Vision
Mission
Story Starters empowers parents and educators to raise children who embrace difference and approach the world with curiosity, compassion, and confidence.
Vision
By middle school, all children have experienced positive conversations about race at home and at school, so they are able to build communities where everyone belongs. They understand their own identity, show care for others’ experiences, and recognize injustice. They feel ready to speak up, ask questions, and take thoughtful action.
"Families and teachers who do not want to 'call children's attention' to issues of race are therefore not preparing children for existence in a multiethnic society; are not preparing them to make sense of the media images they will encounter; and are not helping them recognize, name, and disrupt the racism present in their childhood peer settings." (Copenhaver-Johnson, 2006)
Did you know?
450
families enrolled
2500+
new books in homes
Innumerable
conversations
between caregivers and kids
85%
feel more or much more prepared to discuss race/racism with their children after completing the Story Starters program.
99%
would recommend Story Starters to a friend.
Our hope is that…
by engaging with picture books, conversations, and hands-on activities, children grow into:
Culturally curious learners who explore their own identities, ask thoughtful questions, and appreciate stories and traditions different from their own
Compassionate friends and classmates who treat peers with kindness and respect their background and experiences
Confident communicators who notice when something feels unjust and, with help from trusted adults, are ready to speak up or take thoughtful action to support themselves and others
Our Origin Story
Joslyne Decker, Founder
Story Starters was founded in 2017 by Joslyne Decker, building on a racial equity program she created at her daughter’s independent school. As a White parent raising a Black child, she noticed that the school’s mostly White, well-meaning, and highly educated parent community lacked the tools to talk about race with their children or with one another. With support from school administrators, she launched Parents for Racial Equity, which engaged families in formal antiracist training that continues to shape the school today. Recognizing that many other parent communities faced similar challenges, Joslyne organized and launched the first Story Starters family program in Belmont in early 2018. She co-led the organization until 2020, when her family relocated to the Washington, D.C. area.