Dear IRT Community,
As we welcome the arrival of Spring, a time of renewal and reimagination, I would like to take this opportunity to share our most recent program updates.
ADVISING
Current IRT Scholars are hearing back from graduate programs about acceptances and funding packages. They are utilizing resources as well as engaging with their IRT Advisors and fellow cohort members through meetings, chats and cohort social hours. These differentiated tools of engagement allow our scholars to feel a sense of belonging and community as they embark on their decision making process. Our warmest CONGRATULATIONS to our scholars on their graduate school acceptances! Our young people across the education sector will greatly benefit from your knowledge, skills and talents. Also, we want to shout out APPRECIATIONS to our Statement of Purpose Advisors for working closely with our scholars on their applications. Scholars have remarked that their advisors not only offered constructive feedback on their drafts but also encouraged them to show their authentic selves. At a time when diversity is being dismissed this type of guidance is of even more importance.
COHORT 2024
As you know we had an active recruitment season with the assistance of consultant, Juliana (Juju) Wong, IRT, ‘15. We enjoyed meeting all of the prospective IRT Scholars as well as getting to visit several of their campuses. We are grateful to our consortium for partnering with us and serving as hosts. The application was open from December 1, 2023 to March 1, 2024. The IRT Admissions Committee is in the process of reviewing applications and will be forming the new cohort to begin in May 2024.
SUMMER 2024
Once again, we will be offering the Summer Workshop and Recruiters Weekend virtually so that all scholars no matter their location will have access to the programming and graduate schools. We are excited to announce that we have signed a multi year contract with RingCentral Events (formerly Hopin) that will be in use during the Summer Workshop and Recruiters Weekend. As the IRT staff is in the process of being trained on the RingCentral platform, we would like to hear ideas about how you might use the platform to network with each other and with the new cohort. Please send your ideas to irt@andover.edu. Thank you!
We also have received a record number of Summer Workshop faculty applications and are in the process of reviewing applications and setting up interviews. Thank you to all who applied. We continue to be grateful to our alumni for their enthusiasm and desire to give back, always.
While our Summer Workshop and Recruiters Weekend are being held virtually, our Annual Consortium Deans and Administrators Meeting will return in person at Phillips Academy in Andover. Additional details will be shared with the consortium in the near future.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
IRT staff will be advancing their knowledge and outreach at several conferences this Spring. We would love to meet up with alums. Please let us know at irt@andover.edu if you will be attending any of the following events.
- The WPC • PPLS •WPS | The Privilege Institute (TPI) | Equity Conference – Tulsa, OK.
- The 2024 AERA Annual Meeting – Philadelphia, PA
- The 2024 Gabriel E. Gallardo Research, Student Leadership & Advocacy Symposium – University of Washington in conjunction with TRIO Ronald D. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program and TRIO Student Support Services
Your continued support for IRT is very much appreciated. I look forward to our ongoing work together.
Aloha,
Catherine Wong
Associate Director & Manager of Programs
Institute for Recruitment of Teachers 