Executive Letter – Page 3 – Institute for Recruitment of Teachers

IRT Letter, January 2024

Greetings from IRT!

We hope the holidays offered you time to rest, reflect and rejuvenate. Venturing into the new year, we are excited to continue to explore IRT’s future. Given the continuing urgency and crisis of our times, we know we need more diverse teachers, specialists, administrators, and professors now. We know that change does not happen in isolation or departmental vacuums. With the mounting challenges to what we teach, how we teach, where we teach, and who we teach with, the IRT represents a throughline of community, connection, and care.

Executive Letter, September 2023

Hello IRT Community!

Happy start of the school year! As we all return to classrooms, offices, routines, and the sounds of learning – I hope our community is well and safe. Over the last few months, the IRT staff worked diligently to ensure our program operations and conversations regarding our future stayed on course. I hope you join me in expressing gratitude for their skill application, resources, and tenacity to augment the opportunities for our Scholars.

We navigated the IRT admissions cycle, welcoming 108 Scholars into our cohort. In the last year alone, teachers faced unprecedented attacks on values the IRT community holds near and dear. We are proud of our Scholars for envisioning a future of education with them in it – even though our broader communities are navigating extensive uncertainty.

Executive Letter, January 2023

Brooks photo

Moving into 2023, I am enthusiastic about the year IRT has ahead. Our IRT Scholars submitted their applications for graduate school, and we could not be more proud of them. We are grateful for the support of the IRT staff, external advisors, and IRT alums who aided and supported the process.

As our Scholars continue to navigate the admissions process with interviews and preview days, the IRT begins to open ours. Our alums continue to recognize prospective educators and to ensure we have the representation of future scholarship we need. Applications are open until March 1, so please share the application amongst your networks. If you would like to review the IRT application process or to share application resources, please visit our application page.

Executive Letter, September 2022

Hello IRT Community!

Welcome back to our school year! I hope the summer was relaxing and filled with rejuvenation.

Over the summer, the IRT continued to implement our virtual Summer Workshop and support our students via advising. The IRT staff is grateful to our faculty for their expertise, support, and mentorship. As we gear up for the fall, we look forward to our Scholars continuing their applications and gaining support from the IRT community.

This fall, I look forward to continuing to engage our community regarding our program, exploration activities, and student needs. As we continue to move forward, please continue to engage with us. This weekend, I had the opportunity to watch the Uncle Bobbies: bell hooks Symposium featuring IRT community members. It was an opportunity to think of how scholarship can transform our communities, concepts of love, and how we work within a radical tradition. I encourage you to share with us any online presentations, discussions, or research – we love to learn and stay connected to you.

Best,

LaShawnda

Executive Letter, June 2022

I treasure the Summer solstice in a newfound way. In the past, summers meant a chance to reset, reflect, and find new ways to feel free after shedding the stress of the academic year. The last few years have not been easy for many of us.

The ongoing pandemic, democratic instability, and lack of community have left many wondering what comes next and how to rebuild. Amidst this uncertainty, I find the workshop and IRT summer have a perfect opportunity to reset.