Episode 25: Institute for the Recruitment of Teachers

Every Quarter

How do we educate our society as it consistently evolves? The Institute for Recruitment of Teachers seeks to answer this question. Founded in 1990 by Kelly Wise, the IRT has a nearly 30-year history of producing socially justice minded educators in both the K-12 and professoriate. In this episode of Every Quarter, we sit down with the new Executive Director of the Institute for Recruitment of Teachers, LaShawnda Brooks and Jessica Acosta Chavez '06, IRT ’12, Phillips Academy's Associate Director of Admission and Outreach. As an alumna of both the program and Phillips Academy, Acosta–Chavez has the unique opportunity to speak with Brooks around the history of IRT, the current needs in educating diverse populations, and the new possibilities for the IRT. As the American demographics change, so do our need for educators. According to the Learning Policy Institute, people of color represent nearly 40% of the population and 50% of our students. Since the IRT's founding in 1990, the percentage of K-12 educators of color has increased from 12% to 20%. Currently, there are over 2,000 individuals who have received a Masters degree and over 330 Ph.D.s awarded to IRT alumni.