IRT Brochure

T R I institute for recruitment of teachers Founded at Phillips Academy in 1990

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“IRT’s work is more important than ever. For our nation to emerge from the well-documented educational crisis, we desperately need the leadership of the diverse, passionate and thoughtful educators that have been touched by the IRT experience.”

— Steve Zrike, IRT ’01, Chief Area Officer, Chicago Public Schools; responsible for overseeing 26 schools and 19,000 students.

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A Real Cause for Celebration

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t is a dizzying assignment trying to condense our history into a few paragraphs.

These days, IRT employs a staff of seven, five full time and two part time. We work each year with approximately 100 students—the number this year is 108.

The summer workshop runs for four weeks. Our annual operating budget is over $700,000 and our endowment has crested to ts more than $7.5 million. Those are the quick, cold facts my, which omit the sustaining support of Phillips Academy, d especially in the last decade by Barbara Chase, Head d of School, and her administration, and the hours and ehours of cultivation required to enlist the endorses, ment of key foundations—Ford, Pew, Bristol-Myers, to mention only a few, and the unparalleled backingg of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Thanks to The Office of Academy Resources, corporate and foundation support was crucial in creating our life-blood of funding over the past two decades, but no less gratifying were the loyal contributions of the Abbot Academy Association and a solid body of socially conscious friends and Academy alumni.

But let me press the rewind button! In the fall of 1989, I decided that somewhere a program should be launched like the IRT that would recruit outstanding students of color to help deepen the very shallow pool of candidates being recruited ii for teaching positions in American schools and universities.

In 1990, as I was completing my assignment as Dean of Faculty at Phillips Academy, I created the IRT, with the approval of Headmaster Donald McNemar. The Institute would be sited at Andover, operate a summer workshop, and initially work with a consortium of six universities – Wesleyan University, University of Connecticut, University of Rhode Island, Purdue University, University of Chicago, and Michigan State University. Its mission would be to address the paucity of teachers of color working at urban schools, colleges, and universities.

There were 17 participants in the first summer workshop, chosen from a pool of 29 applicants. Dr. Rafael Pérez-Torres, then a professor at the University of Wisconsin,

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joined me and a graduate student from Brown University to teach in the first workshop. Over the next five years, as the number of workshop students and teaching faculty grew, Dr. Pérez-Torres began to shape a creative and rigorous curriculum for the workshop that introduced IRT students to significant graduate-level readings in critical and cultural theory.

Now let’s fast forward to the present day. In 2010, there were 276 applicants to the Institute. The majority of these students, primarily rising seniors, were top scholars and leaders at their undergraduate institutions. Currently, with gentle authority and savvy efficiency IRT Director Asabe Poloma administrates the summer workshop as well as the daily workload of the IRT office. There are six members of the workshop faculty, headed by three dedicated leaders: Faculty Coordinator Dr. Clement White of the University of Rhode Island and Curriculum Coordinators Dr. Reginald Wilburn of the University of New Hampshire and Mónica Muñoz Martínez, an ABD (All But Dissertation) doctoral candidate in American Studies at Yale University. The consortium now includes 41 universities—with a wait list of eight institutions—that actively recruit IRT students, over 92% of whom receive partial to full funding as graduate students for up to 6 years.

The Institute has experienced unequivocal success over the past 20 years. We have worked with over 1400 students; 135 have already earned their Ph.D.s; by this fall, more than 400 will have earned terminal Master’s degrees and many will be teaching in elementary and secondary schools across the nation; furthermore, 95 of that number are currently serving as school administrators and principals. At least 300 more are ABD and in the process of completing their Ph.D.s, and 8 are tenured university professors.

The IRT family has grown immensely since the founding of the Institute in 1990.

Our students are already distinguishing themselves by their labors. They are helping to strengthen the educational reform movement in the country by bringing their bright talents and new methodologies to the classroom. They are administrators instituting important changes in community, school, and university venues. They are also scholars articulating innovative ideas and publishing works that elicit critical attention. Visibly, they take deep pride in their commitment to education and to the students they so loyally serve. We who have recruited and worked with these students and watched their entry into the profession admire their vitality and promise. They stir us with hope as they join others across the nation to upgrade the American educational system.

— Kelly Wise Founder and Executive Director

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IRT 20-Year Graduate Student Enrollment, 1990-2010 Institution

Enrolled

Institution

Boston College

40

University of California, Berkeley

Boston University

14

University of California, Davis

Brandeis University

5

Enrolled

University of California, Los Angeles

25 5 19

Brown University

51

University of California, San Diego

4

City University of New York

30

University of Chicago

46

Columbia University

19

University of Connecticut

49

Columbia Teachers College

36

University of Florida

8

Cornell University

22

University of Maine

4

Duke University

32

University of Maryland, College Park

19

Emory University

24

University of Michigan

89

Harvard University

51

University of New Hampshire

16

Howard University

1

University of N.Carolina, Greensboro

14

Michigan State University

44

University of Notre Dame

6

New York University

56

University of Pennsylvania

37

Princeton University

21

University of Rhode Island

49

Purdue University

78

University of Rochester

9

University of Southern California

31

Rice University

5

Rutgers University

24

University of Texas, Austin

12

Simmons College

19

University of Vermont

26

1

University of Virginia

28

Southern Methodist University Stanford University

35

Washington State University

Tufts University

56

Washington University, St. Louis

20

Yale University

21

University of Arizona

2

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“The rigor and high standards of the IRT workshop prepare interns well for graduate school. They feel no intimidation in competitive exchanges in graduate school seminars. Their confidence and selfesteem have been nurtured analytically and compassionately. They have learned to defend their ideas with passion and clarity.”

— Shivohn Garcia, IRT ’00, ABD in American Studies, Purdue University

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The Importance of IRT Counseling

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ach year, the faculty and staff invest countless hours counseling the IRT cohort and every one of us considers this work critical and deeply fulďŹ lling.

Over a three month period, each student works with a faculty or staff advisor on every piece of their graduate school application, including the statement of purpose, writing sample, resume, fellowship applications, and supplemental essays.

The IRT sets guideposts in the form of deadlines to help participants move steadily through the pro process and spur completion of the applications.

In weekly telephone conferences with their adviso students are encouraged to further clarify sors, th their academic and professional goals while also ar articulating concisely why and how the pursuit of a particular advanced degree will enable them to do so.

The IRT does not help students write their sstatements nor do we believe in a formula for a successful template, but the regular feedback a discussion with an advisor helps a student and b balance framing his or her possible avenues for research within existing and contemporary dialogues in various disciplines by highlighting past relevant research, teaching experiences, and undergraduate coursework. As a result, their essays are enhanced by our suggestions as to what we anticipate admission committees might wish to know about their preparedness to undertake graduate study. Through this process, a strong mentoring relationship develops as IRT advisors often have to reassure students who lose conďŹ dence because of all the work required or because of low to median GRE scores that frequently lead them to question whether they can do graduate-level research.

Another critical area of the counseling that we offer is assisting participants as they compose the ďŹ nal list of 8-12 graduate programs from several hundred in the

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consortium to which to apply. Students often mistakenly approach this process by focusing on the national reputation or rankings of the university and, in some cases, even the climate of the region. We strongly urge them to consider specific graduate programs and departments based on established reputations in their fields of study, the “fit” with their scholarly and professional goals, and funding packages.

We also encourage students to explore the ways each graduate program is organized and investigate the research the faculty and graduate students are engaged in, as well as the nuances in a discipline’s subfields such as philosophy or anthropology. It is gratifying to help students hone in their graduate interests, and support them as they pursue their goals for a career in education.

— Asabe Poloma Director

“I chose to get involved because I believed in the vision that Kelly Wise had for what the IRT and Andover can be by promoting social and educational advancement and basic fairness in terms of opportunity.”

—Andrew Guff, PA ’79, IRT Advisory Board

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Distinguished Service Award

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he IRT Distinguished Service Award will be given from time to time to alumni, Summer Workshop Faculty, IRT administrators, Advisory Board members, and any person directly connected to the greater IRT family whose commitment to the mission and success of the IRT and its outreach across the nation is extraordinary. d The first Distinguished Service Award is given to Dr. Clement A. White. In Julyy i2010, Dr. White completed his twentieth consecutive summer teaching in the workshop. “Clemente” as we all warmlyy hail him, is an inspiring teacher and mentor to IRT students. He serves as the Institute’s Faculty Coordinator. His self-effacing modesty and bouncy personality captivate students and faculty alike. They know that he will always be in their corner; whatever they do or D t t off M d become in the future. A professor in the Department Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures at the University of Rhode Island, he also serves as Director of the Graduate Program in Hispanic Studies. With a Ph.D. from Brown University, Dr. White is a prolific scholar and author of books of short stories, poetry, and critiques of Latin American and American writers. His research interests include the works of Danticat, CLR James, Langston Hughes, Cuba’s Nicolás Guillén, and Méndez-Faith.

Dr. Denise Galarza Sepúlveda, current chair of the Latin American and Caribbean Studies program at Lafayette College, and former workshop Curriculum Coordinator, IRT ’92, offers high praise for Dr. White: “Through his humility and his graceful example, Clemente has been teaching us all The Art of Balance. From him we have learned how to cultivate a Zen-like patience while working hard to reach our goals; how to be both nurturing and demanding with students; how to honor the memory of those who died loving us and sacrificing for us while simultaneously savoring the fullness of life; how to get through the grunt work while never losing touch with what really matters: family, friends, food, love, music, learning, and the poetry that helps us sing about it all.”

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“As a middle school teacher in the Boston Public School system, I witness the positive impact my colleagues of color have had in providing strong role models to students.

IRT directly addresses the dearth of teachers of color in schools today.”

—Melissa Goodrich Lyons, IRT Advisory Board, 7/8th grade teacher and curriculum developer

“I am one of hundreds of students for whom the pursuit of graduate education would have been impossible without the program’s assis“My purpose went from a tancestatement in securingoffor me fully funded packages rambling entry to adegrees.” succinct and toward mydiary MA and Ph.D.

compelling essay, which I could not have —Alexandra Cornelius-Diallo, IRT ’91, accomplished without IRT coaching.”

Assistant Professor of African and Africana Studies at Florida International University.

—Lori Noll, IRT ’10 8

A L U M N I F E AT U R E S

Tiffany H. Gill, IRT ’95 is a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University of Texas-Austin. She was a member of the IRT summer faculty from 1998–2001, serving as Curriculum Coordinator in 2001. Dr. Gill is the 2010 Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award recipient for excellence in undergraduate education.

Her recent book, Beauty Shop Politics: African American Women’s Activism in the Beauty Industry (University of Illinois Press, 2010) was awarded the 2010 Letitia Woods Brown Memorial Book Prize by the Association of Black Women Historians.

Her seasoned observation: “Higher education functions best when professors and administrators are courageous enough to challenge students to become informed, engaged, and compassionate global citizens.”

Reginald Jackson, IRT ’00 holds a B.A. in East Asian Languages and Civilization from Amherst College and a Ph.D. in East Asian Studies from Princeton University. An Assistant Professor, he taught at Yale University for two years before joining the University of Chicago’s East Asian Languages and Civilizations Department. His teaching interests include Japanese Literature, Drama, and Art History; 20th Century African American Music and Cultural Studies; and Translation.

His educational focus: “To teach students to read strategically, against the legacies that govern our intellectual work.”

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A L U M N I F E AT U R E S A After earning a B.A. from the College of William aand Mary, Delice Williams, IRT ’96 eenjoyed a very successful teaching stint at Phillips A Academy. For graduate study, she attended W Washington University in Saint Louis, where sshe earned a Master’s Degree and achieved ABD sstatus in the doctoral program in English. She is ccurrently finishing her dissertation in modern S South Asian fiction. In 2004, she joined the faculty o of St. Andrews Episcopal School in Maryland.

C Currently, she teaches AP English and serves as A Associate Director of College Counseling.

H Her teaching philosophy: “Students must bbe taught to read, write, and communicate eeffectively. Those skills are crucial for their ssuccess and for the survival of civil discourse in oour democracy.”

Justin McHorse,

IRT ’97 is Director of the American Indian Program at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, NM. In 2004, he earned a M.S. in Education with a specialization in Higher Education from Purdue University.

Initially, he accepted a position as Assistant Director of Diversity Programs in Engineering at Cornell University, but in 2008, he returned to his home state, where he grew up on the Taos Pueblo Reservation. He is dedicated to helping American Indian students navigate the undergraduate college experience and to stride boldly toward personal achievement.

His pressing challenge to Higher Education: “Institutional commitment to fund and support minority programs, especially those that address Native American needs and access.”

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A L U M N I F E AT U R E S

Alejandro Velasco, IRT ’99 is Assistant Professor of Latin American Studies at New York University. He holds a Ph.D. in History from Duke University, specializing in modern Latin America. He has taught at Duke and Hampshire College, where he was a Five College Fellow. Dr. Velasco’s research has won major funding support from the Social Science Research Council, the American Historical Association, the Ford Foundation, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

His abiding concern: “The place of the liberal arts in an age of specialization.”

Besenia Rodriguez,

IRT ’99 is the Associate Dean of the College for Research and Upper Class Studies at Brown University. In 2000, she received her B.A. with honors from Brown; in 2002, a Master’s Degree in American Studies; and later in 2006, a Ph.D. in American Studies and African American Studies from Yale University. Besenia’s past academic assignments also include an Adjunct Instructorship and Director of Student Services, Pepperdine Graduate School of Education & Psychology. From 2000-2005, she served as a charismatic teacher and the Curriculum Coordinator in the IRT summer workshop.

Her determined focus: “Connecting students from diverse racial/ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds with meaningful research, fellowship, and professional development opportunities.”

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A L U M N I F E AT U R E S

Esther Yoonmi Cho, IRT ’05 has taught English for four years at Northern Valley Regional High School in Demarest, NJ. 100% of her students, she reports, have passed with proficient or advanced proficient on the New Jersey High School Proficiency Assessment. In May 2010, she received an Ed.M with a concentration in Educational Policy and Management from Harvard Graduate School of Education. In June 2011, she will begin work at Columbia Teachers College on an Ed.M. Principal License. Her B.A. in English and secondary teacher certification were earned at Bryn Mawr College.

Her deepest concern: “Secondary schools must creatively maximize and align both school and community resources in order to teach students to live in a world that has significant achievement gaps among ethnic, racial, and socio-economic groups.”

At The Park School of Baltimore, Kirkland C. La Rue, IRT ’04 teaches a play-based kindergarten rooted in a progressive educational philosophy. With a B.S. in Human Development, Summa Cum Laude, from Howard University and a M.A.T. in Child Development from Tufts University, at Park School he has co-facilitated diversity related workshops, “The Black Male Experience at Park” and “Broadening the Conversation about Race” His pedagogy: “I teach kindergarten, the target being the minds and hearts of the future. The goal is to create a more thoughtful world in which I want to grow old.”

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“I am one of hundreds of students for whom the pursuit of graduate education would have been impossible without the program’s assistance in securing for me fully funded packages toward my MA and Ph.D. degrees.”

—Alexandra Cornelius-Diallo, IRT ’91, Assistant Professor of African and Africana Studies at Florida International University.

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“Serving on the IRT Board broadens my circle of friends and acquaintances while sustaining my connection to the Academy; it is a source of pride and fulfillment to address and deliver on an inspiring matter of grave importance to our society.”

—Taylor Bodman, PA ’79,

“The large majority of our students continue their careers in education long after they earn a Master’s or Ph.D. They are not interested in dabbling in education, then forsaking it for a more lucrative field. They want to institute change. They will be a vital part of the Reform Movement which is determined to upgrade the American Educational System.”

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—Kelly Wise, Executive Director

IRT Staff & Directors Kelly Wise, Executive Director, 1990-Present Asabe Poloma, Director, 2008-Present Leislie Godo-Solo, Associate Director, 2002-Present Monique Cueto-Potts, Coordinator for Recruitment & Admissions, 2007-Present JoAnne Fallon, Program Coordinator, 2006-Present (at PA since 2001) Janelle Bonasera, Alumni Coordinator, 2010-Present Elizabeth (Betty) Guthrie, Program Assistant, 2001-Present

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Former IRT Directors Chera Reid, Director 2006-08, Interim Director 2005-06 Alexandra Cornelius, Director 2002-05, Associate Director 1999-2002 Carma Van Allen, Associate Director 1998-99, Assistant Director 1997-98

IRT Advisory Board Members Daniel W. Algrant PA ’76 Christopher S. Auguste PA ’76 Taylor S. Bodman PA ’79 Pamela Tanner Boll Marcos E. Caro PA ’80 Andrew Chin PA ’00 Shawn Christian, Ph.D. Daniel E. Coleman PA ’69 Louise Kennedy Corrigan PA ’76 Daniel P. Cunningham PA ’67 Louis G. Elson PA ’80 Erick Espin PA ’97 Corinne T. Field PA ’83 Stephen H. Frank PA ’81 John W. Gillespie, Jr. PA ’71 Andrew J. Guff PA ’79 Lawrence G. Harris PA ’80 Julia Lloyd Johannsen PA ’96 Roger Kass PA ’79

John J. H. Kim PA ’83 Brooks Klimley PA ’75 Patrice M. LeMelle PA ’76 Cher Lewis PA ’68 William M. Lewis, Jr. PA ’74 Benjamin I. Lumpkin PA ’91 Melissa Goodrich Lyons Chera Reid IRT ’00 Mark W. Stevens PA ’69 Thomas R. Sommerfield PA ’73 Sylvia Thayer PA ’54 Christopher C. Thompson PA ’83 Hella F. Winston PA ’86 David J. Winton II PA ’71 Bruce S. Wilson PA ’77 Adam K. Wise PA ’83 Stefanie Scheer Young PA ’81 Marcy Kerr Yuknat PA ’90 Stephen Zrike IRT ’01

“An advanced degree signals a willingness to learn, to be curious, to grow—qualities every employer seeks.”

—Chera Reid, IRT ’00, Advisory Board, ABD in Higher Education Administration, NYU

“We choose people for the program who convince us that they want to carve out careers in education. They may become Pied Pipers in the classroom and be dedicated to working with students daily, face to face. Others because of their research interests or leadership abilities move steadily toward a department chairmanship. Some become principals; others university deans. We will see the day that a number will become superintendents of schools and university presidents.”

—Asabe Poloma, IRT Director

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IRT Mission Statement The Phillips Academy Institute for Recruitment of Teachers (IRT) addresses the lack of diversity in the nation’s teaching faculties by recruiting outstanding students of color and other scholars committed to diversity, counseling them through the graduate school application process, and advocating for sufďŹ cient funding for advanced study. Since 1990, the IRT has built a national consortium of colleges and universities that are eager to enroll IRT students to diversify their graduate student bodies and to expand the pipeline of educators to teach, counsel, and administrate in American schools, colleges, and universities. IRT urges its students to earn their advanced degrees and teaching credentials before they launch their educational careers.

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