Recruitment – Institute for Recruitment of Teachers

IRT on the Road: Summer & Fall 2026

Breakthrough Greater Boston Careers in Education Fair, UNCF/Mellon Programs Conference, International Conference on Education & Justice and more…

The IRT team has been busy these past few months connecting at events. Highlights on the team’s travels below. Any IRT Alumni who plan to attend annual conferences or local events, let us know!

LaShawnda Brooks
Executive Director, IRT

Breakthrough Greater Boston held their annual Careers in Education Fair this August at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. LaShawnda connected with talented teaching fellows exploring their paths to a career in education.

LaShawnda also attended Boston University’s Fall 2026 Education Policy Seminar Series in September. Dominique Baker, an associate professor from the University of Delaware presented on “Examining the Higher Education Policy Discourse Through 75 Years of Congressional Hearing Testimony.”

Leislie Godo-Solo, IRT ‘ 91
IRT Education Programs Specialist

On October 1, Leislie presented at the UNCF/Mellon Programs Conference in Atlanta. The theme was Scholars Transforming the Academy: Centering and Stabilizing Scholar Activism
in Times Like These. Additional IRT Alumni participating in panel discussions included Dominick Rolle, IRT ’09 is the Director of Undergraduate Research Programs, The Pathways Center, at Emory University, Julius Flemming, IRT ’08 Associate Professor of English at Washington University, Saint Louis, and Bria Paige, IRT ’18 a postdoctoral fellow at Dartmouth College.

Leislie will also be representing IRT and its program on October 22 at a Virtual Internship and Postbaccalaureate Research Programs Expo, hosted by Morgan State University and The Leadership Alliance.

2026 UNCF/Mellon Programs Conference

Interested in Joining the Next IRT Cohort?

The IRT application is now open for scholars wishing to begin a graduate program in the fall of 2027.

The application will close on March 1, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. EST – please note that no extensions will be granted.

IRT in Attendance

Phillips Academy Outreach Programs Showcase

In July, IRT staff members Leislie Godo-Solo, IRT ’91, LaShawnda Brooks, Sara Cerretani, and alum Viviana Cordero Garcia IRT ’15 participated in the Phillips Academy Outreach Programs Showcase, an opportunity for the various programs to share their missions and successes with community partners.

UNCF Unite Conference – July 2025

Leislie Godo-Solo, IRT ’91, attended the UNCF’s Unite 2025: Together We Lead Conference in Atlanta and participated in workshops that addressed Black student success, the importance of advising with a racial/cultural lens, and the topic of segregation scholarships, among others.

Leislie Godo-Solo, IRT ’91

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.

Associate Director & Manager of Programs Update, March 2024

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.