New York, NY – Today New Classrooms, a nonprofit on a mission to personalize education by redesigning how a classroom works, announced Shavar Jeffries, national president of Democrats for Education Reform, and Paul Massey, founding partner of B6 Real Estate Advisors, have joined its Board of Directors. The nonprofit is also welcoming Philip Uri Treisman, founder and executive director of the Charles A. Dana Center at The University of Texas at Austin, to its Board of Advisors.
“We are thrilled to welcome Shavar, Paul and Uri to our boards. These incredible leaders bring invaluable experience and passion in the pursuit of improving educational opportunities for students to our work,” said New Classrooms CEO Joel Rose. “With their help, we will expand New Classrooms’ positive impact on students across the country.”
Jeffries, a civil rights lawyer and national president of Democrats for Education Reform (DFER), brings a personal commitment to ensuring that a child’s zip code does not define their destiny. He has advocated for educational equity for 20 years. As a lawyer, he’s litigated numerous education cases, spanning school funding, special education, and racial equity. He served as an assistant attorney general for the state of New Jersey, where he supervised the state’s civil-rights and crime-prevention strategies as well as its juvenile prisons. He’s served on many boards that address educational equity: he was founding board president of KIPP-New Jersey, board president of Newark Public Schools, and has served on several boards involving youth development.
“I am beyond excited to join New Classrooms and support the organization’s work to reimagine for the modern world what teaching and learning should look like,” said Jeffries. “Too many of our classrooms operate instructionally in ways that are materially indistinguishable from how they worked in the 20th century. New Classrooms is at the forefront of transforming our schools in ways that better enable all children to fulfill their potential, and I’m honored to support this work.”
Massey joins New Classrooms from the recently launched B6 Real Estate Advisors, where he is a founding partner and CEO.
“New Classrooms’ innovative vision is a pioneering force dedicated to our future,” said Massey. “Because students learn and develop in different ways, New Classrooms fosters a collaborative environment that ensures students have a path to learning that suits their needs as individuals. Thank you for building an exciting education model for the next generation—tomorrow’s leaders.”
Prior to B6 Real Estate Advisors, Massey co-founded Massey Knakal Realty Services in 1988 and built the company into New York’s top-ranked investment sales firm for 15 consecutive years. In December 2014, Massey Knakal was acquired by Cushman & Wakefield, where Massey served as president of NY Investment Sales until this spring.
Massey also campaigned in the 2017 New York City mayoral race, and as a member of the philanthropic community, has demonstrated a passion for improving educational opportunities for students in New York City and across the country.
Treisman is a distinguished teaching professor of mathematics as well as public affairs at The University of Texas at Austin. He is the founder and executive director of the University’s Charles A. Dana Center, an organized research unit of the College of Natural Sciences.
Treisman is active in the leadership of organizations working to improve American mathematics education. His research and professional interests span mathematics and science education, education policy, social and developmental psychology, and community service and volunteerismu002du002dall of which will be valuable assets as an advisor to New Classrooms’ work.
About New Classrooms
Founded in 2011, New Classrooms is a national nonprofit on a mission to personalize education by redesigning how a classroom works – from the use of technology, time, and physical space to the instruction and content that engages each student. The founders of New Classrooms were the leaders of an initiative within NYC Public Schools called School of One, which TIME named as one of the Best Inventions of 2009. New Classrooms’ first learning model, Teach to One: Math, ensures each student is learning the right math lesson, at the right time, and in the right way that best meets their strengths and needs. It is used by thousands of students in schools nationwide.