February 2025 – Page 2 – Institute for Recruitment of Teachers

De La Salle Academy: Celebrating 40 Years of Academic Excellence, Access, and Opportunity in Middle School Education

Dr. Angel Gonzalez, IRT ’06 shares his professional journey and focus on the pivotal role of middle school education

Dr. Angel Gonzalez, De La Salle Academy alum class of ’99 and IRT ’06, is the Head of School at De La Salle Academy (DLSA). After attending IRT’s summer internship program, Angel completed his undergraduate degree in sociology at Hunter College-CUNY and was admitted to the University of California, Berkeley for a M.A. and Ph.D. program in Social and Cultural Studies in Education. Angel returned to his middle school alma mater as the social studies teacher and after serving as Academic Dean, Director of Admissions, and Principal, he became Head of School in 2021, taking over from the Founder of the School, Brother Brian Carty, FSC. Angel has taught as an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Africana and Puerto Rican/Latino Studies and the School of Education at Hunter College, CUNY, and as an adjunct professor in the Educational Leadership Program at the Klingenstein Center at Teachers College, Columbia University. In 2024, he was elected to the Board of Trustees for the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS).

IRT at UNCF/Mellon Programs Conference

Several IRT alumni met up while attending the 2024 UNCF/Mellon Programs Conference this past October. The conference theme was Preparing Scholars to Transform the Academy in a Time of Rapid Social and Technological Change. IRT current students and alumni took part in panel discussions as part of the conference agenda and also talked about their experiences with the IRT.

Did you attend? Have any pictures to share from the event? Please let us know in the comments section below.

Endia Hayes, IRT ’16 (on the left) sat on a panel discussion
entitled, Scholars Transforming the Academia.

Alumni Accolades, February 2025

We are so proud of all of our alumni accomplishments! If you are an IRT alum and would like to share your news in an upcoming post or if you are an alumni author and would like to have your book posted on our alumni publications page, please reach out!

Omar Galárraga, IRT ’00
Congratulations to Omar recently awarded tenure and is the Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice, and Director of the International Health Institute at Brown University.

Photo: Brown University

IRT Application is Open for Incoming Cohort

The IRT application for consideration for the 2025 Cohort is open! Details on eligibility, requirements, and other pertinent information can be found on the IRT website. The application will close on March 1, 2025.

Please email irt@andover.edu with any questions.

Webinar SerieS: Demystifying IRT’s Admissions Process

Prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to view four webinars available on IRT’s YouTube page. These webinars detail our admissions process.

Conducted by IRT staff, they provide insight into how we evaluate candidates and what constitutes a strong applicant. The first webinar overviews the general IRT admissions process and introduces the various components of IRT’s application. The subsequent webinars take a closer look at the three major application components: essays, recommendations, and academic background.