Education – Page 3 – Institute for Recruitment of Teachers

Brooks and Wong Present at NCORE 2022

The 34th National Conference on Race and Ethnicity (NCORE) in Higher Education was held on May 31 – June 4, 2022 in Portland, Oregon. This annual educational event is committed to fostering inclusion and the exchanging of ideas and expertise in higher education. IRT Executive Director LaShawnda Brooks and IRT Associate Director and Manager of Programs Catherine Wong were part of an NCORE-invited interactive panel discussion benefitting educators with anti-racist (AR)/diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) responsibilities.

(L-R) Joe-Joe McManus, Catherine Wong, Michael Benitez
*Photo Credit: Melissa Toledo*

Sustainable Transformation; Making Progress While Battling Changemaker Fatigue

Advisor, speaker and author Joe-Joe McManus and Vice President, Diversity and Inclusion & Associate Professor of Multicultural Education at Metropolitan State University of Denver Michael Benitez joined Brooks and Wong in this session on what changemaking looks like in higher education, real barriers to progress, and proven strategies for institutional transformation.

The panel engaged in critical dialogue with conference participants on the understanding and successful engagement in transformative work. The discussion revolved around the following questions:

Are you the changemaker you had hoped to be when you became an educator?
Do you feel a disconnect between the change agency called for in your position description and the work you are expected to do in the role?
Are you questioning how to persist in your role given the lack of resources, unrealistic expectations and resistance to change that you encounter on a daily basis?

“I feel fortunate to be both a participant and presenter at NCORE for decades. Through NCORE I have met inspiring and diverse scholars, practitioners and community leaders. The work of diversity, equity and inclusion is not meant to be done in isolation. NCORE provides the vital and brave space to have difficult conversations, to battle back at divisiveness and to center cross racial solidarity. The NCORE community does not settle for the status quo, the way things have always been, instead it is an interdisciplinary community that values reimagining what has not yet been imagined.”
Catherine Wong

LaShawnda Brooks (via computer) and Catherine Wong
*Photo credit: Melissa Toledo*

“I was honored to participate in this session with three phenomenal leaders and advocates. Throughout our ongoing pandemic, change-making and community building are essential to establishing a just future. Through this incredible conversation with student leaders and education leaders, I am hopeful we can all own our relative power in the fight for systemic transformation.”
LaShawnda Brooks

IRT Alumni and OWHL Book Project

The IRT is thrilled to announce an initiative to showcase IRT alumni texts within the online or physical shelves at the Oliver Wendell Holmes Library (OWHL) at Phillips Academy in Andover, MA.

We are excited to begin gathering this collection of publications which will serve as a repository and visual representation of the depth and breadth of IRT alumni contributions to scholarship at large, and we hope that you will participate. Sharing your published works both online or within the library will ensure that IRT scholars, Andover students, administrators, faculty and staff are privy to the contributions that IRT alumni are making across a variety of fields.

Please complete the survey to become part of this exciting initiative. If you have multiple publications that you would wish to showcase, please submit the survey as many times as needed.

IRT Alumni and OWHL Survey

r work on display at the OWHL? Please fill out the survey bel

Perseverance Pays Off

L. Virginia Martinez, IRT ’21

I will preface by saying that this is my experience and my journey, and everyone will have their own set of challenges and good and bad moments. While this journey was very long and often resulted in many tears, it was one of my most rewarding journeys. I joined IRT during my first gap year while an AmeriCorps Fellow. If I didn’t join in 2021, my gap year might extend more than two years.

My Journey

After my service year ended in July, I applied for my first “big girl job’, and I got it. While I thought this would be the most exciting time of my career, I was sadly mistaken. There is a long list of things that were red flags, even from my first day there. I had a weird feeling in my stomach on my first day, but I figured it was jitters, the rainy weather, or a mix of anxiety and excitement to have my first real job. Months later, I realized my instincts were trying to warn me. Shortly after I started, I was miserable, overworked, underrepresented, and depressed. I didn’t have much support at the job, except for three co-workers who I still communicate with. (Spoiler: I left after three months). I couldn’t take any PTO until my third month working there —I had to bill a certain number of units per week, I drove over 2k miles in my short time there, and I was frequently vocal about the lack of diversity in the organization and how my position as one of the few women of color there affected me.

PA GIVING DAY

For the past several years, PA Giving Day – Phillips Academy’s annual community fundraising effort – has been very impactful for the IRT. Significant funds have been raised on this day in years past in support of our scholars and their critical work. When this event was last held, in March of 2019, over 100 gifts were designated to our program in a single day, many from IRT alumni.

On Wednesday, April 28, we will once again celebrate Giving Day, and hope that you might consider making a contribution. Gifts of any size are greatly appreciated, and will play a major role in unlocking $50,000 in match funds!

Our program is fueled by philanthropy, and we are most grateful for your consideration of support. Please save the date!

Teaching and Mental Health Resources

Teaching and Mental Health Resources

There is so much one could say about the events of the last few months. We need to act and tell the truth about race, power, politics, and education in our country. That said, it grounds and reaffirms us to know that we are all in this together. It is particularly humbling to take a step back and realize that many of you have put your professional careers on the line or have been at risk, to tell the truth in your respective fields.

Being a teacher is tough. In a typical year, we all experience difficulties that can rattle our foundations or alter our classrooms. We continuously learn and imagine new ways to support our communities. But this year is already not a typical one.

We recognize that it can be stressful and tiresome. For our students who are applying to graduate schools, you are doing an incredible job. We are proud of how you can rise above and remain hopeful for our future and your role in it. If you are currently teaching, please know that we are here for you and your students.

We’ve gathered a list of mental health resources and teaching resources. Please feel free to add and share your own with us in the reply/comment section below.

~Mental Health Resources~

https://linktr.ee/thenapministry

https://twloha.com/

https://www.glbthotline.org/

https://www.crisistextline.org/

https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/

https://www.thetrevorproject.org/

https://translifeline.org/

https://therapyforblackgirls.com/

https://www.beam.community/

~Teaching Resources~

https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/when-bad-things-are-happening